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British Sugar fails to deliver on 3 year plan to end use of banned neonicotinoids

Time’s up! Minister urged to help sugar farmers go neonic-free and honour ban as deadline approaches to end reliance on bee-harming chemicals

An application for the use of a banned, bee-harming neonicotinoid on sugar beet seed in 2024 has been submitted to the UK Government – despite an industry commitment to end reliance on the banned pesticide in 2023. In August 2020, British Sugar pleaded for “no more than three years… to give us time to develop alternatives to the seed treatments.” Three years has now passed. 

Meeting minutes reveal that the Expert Committee on Pesticides, which has repeatedly advised the Government against authorising banned pesticides, now warns that the risks to bees and other pollinators from such a decision outweigh any likely benefits for sugar beet growers.  

Lifeless bee - poisoned

Lifeless bee

Less than a year ago, the Government committed the UK to reducing the risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half by 2030.
Barnaby Coupe
Land Use Policy Manager of The Wildlife Trusts

Farming minister, Mark Spencer, must now decide whether to follow expert advice and European standards – or to allow an authorisation of the banned chemical in the new year.  

A minuscule trace of neonicotinoids – which were banned in the UK and across the EU in 2018 – can disrupt a bee’s ability to navigate and reproduce, with long-lasting consequences for their survival. When neonicotinoids are washed into streams and rivers, they are extremely toxic to aquatic invertebrates and pollute the water. Yet, for the last three years the UK Government has granted a derogation for the use of the neonicotinoid Thiamethoxam on sugar beet. 

A European High Court ruling on 19 January 2023 found that authorisations for using neonicotinoids were never justified. But on 23 January 2023, the UK Government allowed the use of neonicotinoids on sugar beet in defiance of the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides, which said it was unable to support an authorisation because the “potential adverse effects to honeybees and other pollinators outweigh the likely benefits.” 

Barnaby Coupe, Land Use Policy Manager of The Wildlife Trusts, says: 

“No farmer wants to grow crops using banned pesticides – and no one wants their Christmas cake baked with bee-harming sugar. Where are the alternatives that British Sugar claimed it would invest in? All eyes are now on the Minister, Mark Spencer, to uphold the law banning bee-harming pesticides.  

“Less than a year ago, the Government committed the UK to reducing the risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half by 2030. Since then, the European Court has ruled against attempts to weaken the ban on neonics. Now we learn that the UK Expert Committee on Pesticides has once more advised against the use of these chemicals, citing unacceptable risks to bees and river health. 

“A third of sugar beet farmers decided against using neonics last year, even though they were authorised for use. Many growers are trying to farm in a way that does not harm nature or rivers – yet there is no support for these growers from the industry or Government. British Sugar appears more interested in short-term profits than the long-term sustainability of the farming sector.” 

Recent research found that harmful neonicotinoids have been found in more than 10% of English rivers, despite a widespread ban of these chemicals in 2018. In more than half of the rivers where neonics were detected, they were at levels which posed a significant risk to wildlife. 

The Wildlife Trusts submitted a formal complaint to the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) in June this year, raising concerns that the Minister’s decision to allow a derogation was flawed and that the emergency authorisation should never have been granted.   

Professor Dave Goulson has written extensively on the subject. He summarises the danger: “Neurotoxins persist in soils for years, and they are now known to be found in hedgerow plants, streams and ponds. One teaspoon is enough to deliver a lethal dose to 1.25 billion honeybees (it would kill half of them, and leave the others feeling very unwell).  But they do not just pose a threat to bees; any insect living on farmland or in streams that flow from farmland, and any organisms that depend on insects for food (e.g. many birds and fish) are likely to be affected.”  

The public can join The Wildlife Trusts campaign for better support for nature-friendly farming.

Editor’s notes

An application for the use of neonicotinoids in 2024 was discussed in September’s Expert Committee on Pesticides meeting – minutes just published here. The Committee noted “this is the fourth consecutive application for this proposed use” and that “it has not been clearly established that there will be no unacceptable effects on adult or larval honeybee survival and behaviour following the use of ‘Cruiser SB’, and that the impact on the survival, development or productivity of the colony is unknown.” Furthermore, the Committee highlighted risks of further polluting UK rivers and noted “continued surface water monitoring from catchment sensitive farming sites shows higher concentrations of clothianidin than thiamethoxam when ‘Cruiser SB’ has been used”. The ECP agreed that “the potential adverse effects to honeybees and other pollinators cannot be excluded to a satisfactory level if an authorisation were to be granted and this outweighs any likely benefits” and concluded that the requirements for emergency authorisation have not been met. 

British Sugar commitment to end neonicotinoid use by end of 2023:  

Documents were released by Defra in 2021 under a Freedom of Information Request. Managing Director of British Sugar, Paul Kenward, wrote to Victoria Prentis MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 17th August 2020, saying: “We would welcome a limited derogation of no more than three years, as is proposed in France, which would help to give us time to develop alternatives to the seed treatments.” 

A House of Commons Library document states: “In the 2022 decision, the Government said that there is currently no straight replacement for neonicotinoids but by 2023, the sugar beet sector hopes to no longer require neonicotinoid treatments. It is believed that the development of more pest-resistant crops and be using a more integrated pest management approach will suffice.” See 1.6 Future Policy CDP-2022-0024.pdf (parliament.uk) 

 

The applicant guidance published by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) clearly discourages repeat requests for temporary derogations under Article 53 of Regulation 1107/2009. HSE will not normally consider more than three repeat requests for Article 53 emergency authorisation for the same product and use.  

Government aspiration to end reliance on neonicotinoids in 2023: Government approval for the use of neonicotinoids and the impact on bees - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk) says: "The Government stated that by 2023, it is hoped that the sugar beet industry will no longer rely on neonicotinoids through the development of pest-resistant varieties and greater use of Integrated Pest Management, a key focus for future UK pesticides policy."  

The Wildlife Trusts’ complaint to the Office for Environmental Protection: In June 2023, Leigh Day submitted a formal complaint to the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) on behalf of The Wildlife Trusts concerning the repeated (annual) use of emergency authorisations under Article 53 of Regulation 1107/2009 to authorise prohibited chemicals for use on farmland in England. In particular, the complaint raised significant issue with the Minister’s decision-making process in granting the authorisation. See: OEP Submission on Emergency Authorisations (05.06.2023.pdf (wildlifetrusts.org) 

UK Government's committed to the Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in December 2022. Target 7 states: Reduce pollution risks and the negative impact of pollution from all sources, by 2030, to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, considering cumulative effects, including: reducing excess nutrients lost to the environment by at least half including through more efficient nutrient cycling and use; reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half including through integrated pest management, based on science, taking into account food security and livelihoods; and also preventing, reducing, and working towards eliminating plastic pollution. See summary: COP15: Nations Adopt Four Goals, 23 Targets for 2030 In Landmark UN Biodiversity Agreement | Convention on Biological Diversity (cbd.int) 

In 2023, the Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP), said: “it is unable to support an emergency authorisation under Article 53 of Regulation 1107/2009, as potential adverse effects to honeybees and other pollinators outweigh the likely benefits.” The UK Expert Committee on Pesticides (ECP) advice 2023: use of ‘Cruiser SB’ on sugar beet - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Neonicotinoid risk to bees: The environmental risks of neonicotinoid pesticides: a review of the evidence post 2013 (springer.com) and Are crops being devastated without neonicotinoid protection? : Dave's blog : Goulson Lab : School of Life Sciences : University of Sussex 

Risk to rivers: See Wildlife & Countryside Link, Toxic chemical cocktails found at over 1,600 river and groundwater sites across England  

  • 1 or more of 5 harmful neonicotinoids analysed were found in more than 1 in 10 English river sites tested by the Environment Agency (29 of 283 sites) 

  • At 55% of these 29 sites one or more neonics were above the EU’s proposed Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) – the level deemed safe for aquatic wildlife. With 21% of sites having one or more neonics at over 4 times the safe level. 

  • The neonics Clothianidin and Imidacloprid were most prevalent and most exceeded the proposed EQS. 28% of Clothianidin site detections and 47% of Imidacloprid site detections were over the proposed EU safe levels. (Clothianidin is the breakdown product of Thiamethoxam that is used to treat sugar beet seed.) 

  • The highest neonic concentrations were detected in the East of England, South East and West Mids in rivers including the Rivers Ivel, Waveney, Nene, Ouse and Tame. The highest number of neonics found at single sites were detected in Yorks and Humber, the West Mids and E of England.  

  • Further details, data, and maps related to this research are available here. 

 

Lack of support for neonic-free farmers – The Wildlife Trusts’ Barnaby Coupe writes: “A Defra economic analysis report published in early 2023 found that almost a third of sugar beet growers did not use Thiamethoxam-treated seed in 2022, despite an emergency authorisation for its use being approved. If British Sugar is sincere about moving away from neonicotinoid-treated sugar, it would be supporting these innovative farmers who are shouldering business risks to reduce environmental harms as champions of post-neonicotinoid farming. Unfortunately, the reverse is currently the case. Farmers are left with no routes to market neonic-free sugar because British Sugar control the supply chain and all three processing facilities in England; British Sugar has not invested in capacity to output neonic-free or organic sugar. So there is not a technological barrier to producing neonic-free sugar in the UK; indeed European countries are able to process and market organic sugar from sugar beet crops.”  

The Wildlife Trusts’ press releases about the neonicotinoid derogations in recent years include: 

 

The Wildlife Trusts 

The Wildlife Trusts are making the world wilder and helping to ensure that nature is part of everyone’s lives. We are a grassroots movement of 46 charities with more than 910,000 members and 35,000 volunteers. No matter where you are in Britain, there is a Wildlife Trust inspiring people and saving, protecting and standing up for the natural world. With the support of our members, we care for and restore over 2,000 special places for nature on land and run marine conservation projects and collect vital data on the state of our seas. Every Wildlife Trust works within its local community to inspire people to create a wilder future – from advising thousands of landowners on how to manage their land to benefit wildlife, to connecting hundreds of thousands of school children with nature every year. www.wildlifetrusts.org 

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