Are we poisoning our children with plastic?
The chemical BPA is widely added to food and drink packaging, and more than 80% of teenagers have it in their bodies. But how dangerous is it? Read the full article on The Guardian here.
Endocrine disruptors
MEPs back down from EU bisphenol ban
The European Parliament has shied away from demanding a full ban on bisphenol A, instead approving measures that will lower the amount of the chemical that can be part of food packaging. Read the full article on Euractiv here.
Six member states call for glyphosate alternatives, exit plan
Six member states that opposed the re-authorisation glyphosate, the world’s most commonly used weedkiller, sent a letter to the European Commission last month asking the EU executive to conduct a study and look into alternatives to the controversial substance. Read the full article on Euractiv here.
German vote swings EU decision on 5-year glyphosate renewal
EU member states agreed on Monday (27 November) on a five-year renewal period for the controversial herbicide glyphosate, used by Monsanto in its Roundup product. The decision was taken by EU member states’ experts, with 18 votes in favour, nine against and one abstention. Read the full article on EuObserver website here.
MEPs demand glyphosate phase-out, with full ban by end 2022
Parliament backed a full ban on glyphosate-based herbicides by December 2022 and immediate restrictions on the use of the substance, on Tuesday. Read the full article on Europa.eu here.
Andriukaitis: ‘Enough’ with member states hiding behind the Commission on glyphosate
The member states should stop hiding behind or even pointing the finger at the European Commission regarding the re-authorisation of the world’s most commonly used weedkiller, glyphosate, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis told EURACTIV.com. Read the full article on Euractiv here.
MEPs reject Commission’s endocrine disruptor definition
The European Commission will have to rewrite its definition of endocrine disruptors, after MEPs shot down the executive’s proposal in a vote in Strasbourg on Wednesday (4 October). EURACTIV’s partner Journal de l’Environment reports. Read the full article on Euractiv here.
Endocrine disruptors: A guilty definition
French socialist MEPs are defiant against the Commission’s “weak, superficial and incomplete” definition of endocrine disruptors, blaming it on French Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot, and calling on the European Parliament to reject it on Wednesday 4 October. Read the full article on Euractiv here.
Endocrine disruptors: Report exposes scale of contamination as Parliament vote looms
More than one-third of all fruit consumed in the EU is contaminated with residues of endocrine disrupting pesticides, according to a study published on Tuesday (3 October), a day before MEPs vote on the European Commission’s controversial endocrine disruptor criteria. Read the full article on Euractiv here.
EU report on weedkiller safety copied text from Monsanto study
Exclusive: EU’s food safety watchdog recommended that glyphosate was safe but pages of report were identical to application from pesticide maker. Read the full article on The Guardian here.