2001
Our Toxic Future?
2003 2005 2007
Area treated ha
between 2000 and 2013, the total area treated with pyrethroid insecticides grew by 2009 1.38 million ha, including pesticides containing Cypermethrin and lambda-cyhalothrin, 2011of which are highly toxic to bees although less persistent in the environment than both neonicotinoids. 2013 Rather the pesticide load by reducing the use of pyrethroids the 0 than decreasing 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 introduction of neonicotinoids has instead increased it, and the two combined have increased the overall use of pesticides.
Pyrethroid Insecticide Usage for Great Britain 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Total area treated ha
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
0
1,000,000 2,000,000 3,000,000 4,000,000 5,000,000 6,000,000
Glyphosate The overuse of herbicides in the UK has contributed to a dramatic drop in the numbers of wild flower species and general loss of plant biodiversity. The loss of habitat and food sources provided by these plants is a major factor driving the decline of bees and other pollinators that are crucial for food production. Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide in the UK. Its use in agriculture has risen from a total treated area of 1.59 million ha in 2000 to 1.76 million ha in 2013, more than a 10% increase. This has not been a steady increase but has risen and then fallen back again, with a spike in 2009 coinciding with the re-establishment of arable crops on former set-aside fallow land. Glyphosate is also the most widely used pesticide in the amenity and home and garden sector, but data comparing the use of glyphosate across sectors are not available.
Glyphosate usage for Great Britain 2000 - 2013 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 1,400,000 1,500,000 1,600,000 1,700,000 1,800,000 1,900,000 2,000,000
14
Total area treated ha