UNITED KINGDOM: Retailer Leads the Way

The UK ‘Co-operative Group’ is the largest farmer in Britain, managing over 10,000 ha of Co-op owned land, as well as 20,000 ha of farm land owned by other landowners.

In 1999 the Co-op instigated an international Code of Practice on pesticide use. This centred on the creation of a ‘prohibited list’ of 23 pesticides which were henceforth excluded from use on farms managed by Farmcare, as well as on all farms worldwide supplying the Co-op food retail group with food produce.

The impact of the Co-op’s prohibited list was twofold. Firstly it raised standards on Co-op managed farms – given that seven substances banned under the scheme are fully authorised for use in the UK. Furthermore, by demanding that all food suppliers to its retail operations adopt the same Code of Practice, the Co-op used its purchasing power as a retailer to raise standards far beyond the boundaries of its own agricultural operations.