Would you eat Diquat for dinner?

What is Diquat? Diquat is a contact herbicide that produces desiccation and defoliation. Diquat is no longer approved for use in the European Union, although its use in many other countries including the USA and Canada is still valid.

Diquat is an unusual herbicide because it is often not used for weed control but is instead applied directly on mature crops. The desiccation this causes, makes the crop easier to harvest, particularly with mechanised equipment.

The advantage to the farmer can be to advance the harvesting date, reduce the time taken to harvest and, in the case of seed crops, reduce the moisture content of the seed and increase its useful yield.

Diquat damages the intestines and may also trigger a harmful chain reaction in the rest of the body, injuring the liver, kidney, and lungs, according to a new review of more than 100 studies.

The herbicide has traditionally been studied for its toxic effects on the liver and kidneys. However, this review, recently published (May 2025) in Frontiers in Pharmacology, suggests the intestines are a key target for its harmful effects.

Studies show that diquat weakens the intestinal barrier, kills beneficial bacteria, interferes with nutrient absorption, and triggers chronic inflammation, among other impacts. These local injuries may fuel damage in distant organs through a “gut-organ axis,” making Diquat’s toxicity more widespread and dangerous than previously understood, the researchers say.

But Diquat is a banned substance in Europe, and yet France (for example) imports millions of tons of this poison, in the lentils it imports from Canada! And it seems not a word is said! It's time the authorities took action!