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News

Poison for profit – EU exports 122,000 tonnes of banned pesticides

44 Highly Hazardous Pesticides, banned for EU use, are still being shipped to the African continent

Environment and ethics Pesticides
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Features

Meet the farming matchmakers, bringing landowners and tenants together

With 70% of the land in Britain owned by just 1% of the population, availability of land remains a major barrier for new entrant farmers – but "landmatching" hopes to change that.

Land ownership Community Farming
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Features

Reimagining retail to resurrect the fruit and veg market

A recent survey revealed that the British public would prefer to buy from independent retailers, including cooperatives. What needs to happen to make this a reality? Nick Easen goes in search of answers.

Supermarkets Ethical business
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News

2025 Farm Profitability Report – a sector in crisis, crying out for a “new deal”

A 155-page review by former NFU president, Minette Batters, calls for "a new deal for profitable farming"

Farming Politics UK Gov
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WL Meets

WL Meets: Dee Woods, the educator campaigning for everyone’s ‘right to food’

Nick Easen meets the food justice policy coordinator for Landworkers' Alliance and gleans hopeful ideas for a fairer food future

Activism Agroecology
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News

Farming responsible for 40% of UK river pollution

The latest Environment Agency report shows that while the number of farms is falling, pollution incidents are rising.

Environment and ethics Farming Food waste
Opinion

News from the Farm – Grievous Biological Harm & banning glyphosate

Pesticides Environment and ethics Guy Singh-Watson
News

Herbicide linked to cancer used in children’s playgrounds across UK

Pesticides Environment and ethics
News

Poison for profit – EU exports 122,000 tonnes of banned pesticides

Environment and ethics Pesticides
STORY OF THE WEEK

Glyphosate contamination in children’s playgrounds is likely to be fairly common. Many kids could be literally playing with poison. Nick Mole, Policy Manager, PAN UK

Opinion

News from the farm: A lot to learn before dusk descends

Agroforestry Farming Guy Singh-Watson
Features

Meet the farming matchmakers, bringing landowners and tenants together

Land ownership Community Farming
Opinion

News from the farm: Furrows, fairness & 40 years of Riverford

Farming Guy Singh-Watson News from the farm
Features

Reimagining retail to resurrect the fruit and veg market

Supermarkets Ethical business
News

2025 Farm Profitability Report – a sector in crisis, crying out for a “new deal”

Farming Politics UK Gov
News

The AGtivist special report: systemic failures in animal welfare across supply chain

Animal welfare
WL Meets

WL Meets: Dee Woods, the educator campaigning for everyone’s ‘right to food’

Activism Agroecology
News

Farming responsible for 40% of UK river pollution

Environment and ethics Farming Food waste
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FOOD, FARMING, FAIRNESS. Wicked Leeks is a digital news channel joining the dots between food, farming & people, published by @riverford ⬇️SUBSCRIBE

New research (from @pesticideactionnetworkuk ): Ov New research (from @pesticideactionnetworkuk ): Over half of children’s playgrounds tested in England were found to be contaminated with glyphosate, leading to fresh calls to ban the use of herbicides and pesticides in public spaces.

Most children are curious; many are grubby. They put dirt in their mouths and get up close to soil, sandpits and weeds with their hands and faces, especially in playgrounds and parks across the country. They touch and brush against slides, swings and play equipment as they enjoy time outdoors — and then put their fingers into their mouths without a second thought. But there is a silent, odourless and unseen toxin potentially lurking on all these surfaces: glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs).

The world’s most widely used herbicide has contaminated environments that are meant to be among the safest — the places where children play. Glyphosate residues and its toxic breakdown product, AMPA (aminomethylphosphonic acid), were found in eight of the 13 playgrounds tested, from Cambridgeshire to London and from Kent to Buckinghamshire, according to new research by the Pesticide Action Network (PAN).

None of the playgrounds were located close to farmers’ fields, indicating that the contamination came from herbicide use by councils or local authorities to control weeds in public playgrounds for cosmetic purposes. Hackney was the only location where glyphosate was not detected. This London borough went pesticide-free in all its parks more than four years ago.

“These are places where children should be having a healthy time. There is absolutely no need for them to be exposed to this harmful chemical,” says Nick Mole, policy officer at PAN UK. “This study is indicative of a wider problem across the UK. Glyphosate contamination in children’s playgrounds is likely to be fairly common. Many kids could be literally playing with poison.”

For the full story, head to Wicked Leeks via the link in our bio.
"You mix the chemicals and see what happens. You s "You mix the chemicals and see what happens. You spray and then you trust in god.”

The words of a Kenyan farm worker in an interview with @Swedwatch - a not-for-profit organisation, which has further unearthed the extent of our double standards when it comes to protections from the most harmful pesticides.

“EU companies are exporting tens of thousands of tonnes of hazardous pesticides to countries outside of Europe,” explained programme officer Olof Björnsson. “These pesticides are banned for use within the EU because of their adverse impacts on human health and the environment but still widely used in other countries,” he added.

Poison for Profit – The Cost of EU Double Standards on Biodiversity, Human Health and Livelihoods documents the direct experiences of farm workers who have found themselves at the sharpest end of this chemical crisis. They report a wide range of symptoms, from eye and skin irritation to breathing problems and even fatal poisonings. Health professionals also report increasing cancer rates in agricultural regions, while farmers note devastating impacts on biodiversity, including the disappearance of bees and other pollinators. Other environmental impacts, such as contaminated water sources, are also being reported.

The chemical cocktail the Kenyan worker is concocting is made from products that cannot be used in Europe yet continue to be exported overseas – largely to middle and lower-income countries – and in vast quantities. Some of these chemicals have been banned here for decades.

In 2024, for example, the EU exported nearly 122,000 tonnes of banned pesticides. The figures are from the most recent investigation by Public Eye and Unearthed, which also revealed that 44 Highly Hazardous Pesticides (HHPs) banned in the EU are still being shipped for use on the African continent. In 2024 alone, the EU planned to export nearly 9,000 tonnes of these toxic pesticides to Africa. 

Read David Burrows' full report on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio.
Millions of migrant workers face exploitation in E Millions of migrant workers face exploitation in Europe’s fields, harvesting the fruit and vegetables that many of us purchase, writes the AGtivist for Wicked Leeks. This was the stark finding of a disturbing investigation published last year by the charity, Oxfam. Their researchers found that in many European countries, workers were being paid less than the minimum wage, and that incidents “of abuse, including sexual abuse, intimidation, and violence in response to strikes, were commonplace.” 

The investigation also discovered that workers’ accommodation was “frequently overcrowded, expensive, and isolated” and that some women workers had reported instances of being sexually blackmailed by accommodation supervisors. “Some workers were found to live in makeshift slums, which can lack running water, heating, and waste collection and where there is a risk of disease and fire – either accidental or arson attacks,” the researchers said.

In its report, Oxfam also revealed that accidents and injuries were “frequent occurrences”, with cases of employers failing to give adequate training and protective equipment to workers. There were instances of workers being poisoned, researchers found, and one man died after apparently not receiving any water during a full day’s work in 44-degree heat. 

This month, a powerful new film building on these findings will be screened in the UK by the @landworkersalliance as a fundraiser for Justice is Not Seasonal, an collective working to bring an end to exploitation on farms. The film, simply titled The Pickers, takes viewers on a journey across southern Europe as workers harvest oranges, strawberries, olives, and blueberries. 

The filmmakers behind the documentary and its associated campaign give a rare voice to some of those toiling in Europe’s fields, polytunnels, and packing stations and a much needed opportunity to life the lid on the horrifying conditions faced by those who are, by any standard, at the bottom of our modern day supply chains. 

Read the full feature on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio.
If there’s one thing that motivates the Chief Exec If there’s one thing that motivates the Chief Executive of one of Europe’s largest organisations tackling food insecurity, it’s the children and families that go hungry in our towns, cities, and rural areas every day, writes Nick Easen. Three million young people and eight million adults (that’s more than the population of South East England) are now food insecure. Yet the UK is the sixth largest economy on the planet.

“We have a very depressingly child poverty challenge in this country. And we are definitely seeing an increase in demand for our services. At the same time, a third of the food we produce globally is thrown away. So there’s an absolute travesty going on here. This is due to a broken food system at the moment,” explains Charlotte Hill, CEO of @thefelixproject 

She adds: “But right now the redistribution of food is so much easier than the redistribution of wealth."

Bright green vans with the Felix logo emblazoned on their sides scour the nation’s capital for good-to-eat surplus food that can be redistributed – either as basic products or family meals via their network of 1,200 community organisations. Started in 2016, The Felix Project is now London’s largest food redistribution charity.

Along with FareShare, which they’ve just merged with, they serve up the equivalent of 148 million meals a year – more than four meals a second. FareShare is countrywide and is the UK’s largest charity fighting hunger and food waste – together they support an astonishing one million people across Britain.

“A few years ago we used to support the homeless, cancer-afflicted families and those escaping domestic violence. Today it’s people who are actually in work and the only elastic part of their outgoings is money spent on food. It’s why parents are skipping meals. The cost of living crisis is impacting the bottom 30 percent of the UK population the most and it’s getting harder for them to survive. There’s definitely been a shift,” states Hill who heads up the charity. 

Read the full feature on Wicked Leeks, via the link in our bio.

About us

Wicked Leeks is published by Riverford Organic Farmers.

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Riverford grows and sells organic food through its award-winning veg boxes, delivering across the country to a loyal band of customers who share a passion for good food, good farming and good business.

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