UK food tops chemicals league

More chemicals are used to grow food in Britain than in any other major industrialised country, according to a new report.

A review of British environmental performance by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggests that the amount of pesticides and fertilizers used per acre of farmland is greater than in any other country.

Last week, the Department of the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) told The Independent on Sunday that the level of chemicals was "not acceptable". And a House of Commons committee said a voluntary agreement with farmers and landowners to control pesticides was in chaos. Defra's reaction surprised farmers' leaders, who are used to government acquiescence in chemical use.

The report shows that Britain uses 0.58 tons of pesticides for every square kilometre of land, more than twice the OECD average and nearly three times as much as in the US ­ though Japan and Italy use more and France about the same.

The use of fertilizers ­ 20.3 tons per square kilometre ­ is, however, far above that of any other major industrialised country, and more than three times the OECD average.

Defra ­ set up after the last election largely to promote environmentally friendly farming ­ said: "We need a step change in the education of farmers in the use of inputs."

Landowners' leaders insist that farmers automatically use the optimum amount of chemicals in order to do a job for economic reasons, but Defra says that in practice the level of use wastes money and causes "very significant environmental problems".

Overuse of fertilisers and chemicals pollutes rivers, groundwater and drinking water. Nitrates from fertilisers can damage babies and may cause stomach cancer. Pesticides have been linked to cancer and neurological and immune-system problems, and scientists believe they may be the cause of gender changes in marine life.

The OECD report says that the Government should consider taxing chemicals, but three years ago the Prime Minister vetoed plans for a tax on pesticides, insisting on a voluntary "partnership".

But last week a report by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee said that the partnership had achieved little. Its few practical programmes had suffered long delays, and it had even taken six months to decide on a name.

The National Farmers' Union last week sought to portray the OECD figures as inaccurate. But Tony Juniper, of Friends of the Earth, said: "The figures show that agriculture in Britain is more hooked on chemicals than in any other country."

He added: "This scandalous situation is supported by a whole raft of government bodies, from the Food Standards Agency, which repeatedly underplays the need to reduce pesticide use, to the Treasury, which has failed to introduce taxes on farm chemicals. The result is that the health of wildlife and consumers continues toº play second fiddle to the interests of chemical companies."