In May 2019, the European Commission appointed France, Hungary, The Netherlands and Sweden to act as rapporteur Member States for the next assessment on glyphosate. Glyphosate is a chemical widely-used in Plant Protection Products (PPPs) to act as a broad-spectrum herbicide. Given the known toxicity of such chemicals, the EU Pesticides Legislation imposes the issuing of […]
The European Commission worringly authorised a genetically modified soybean for food and feed, but not cultivation, on 28 September 2020. This soybean, the XtendFlex, was approved after a scientific assessment by the European Food Safety Authority. The soybean, produced by biotechnology company Bayer, has been developed to confer tolerance to three major herbicides: dicamba, glufosinate-ammonium […]
French news channel France 2 television recently issued a report about a document from the largest Brussels-based consultancy FleishmanHillard showing which politicians, scientists, regulators and journalists are friendly to Monsanto. This unprecedented case of monitoring and record-keeping is yet another spark that will reignite the heated debate about Monsanto’s weed-killer glyphosate and the outrageous extension […]
On the 1st of June, the European Commission has published its legislative proposals and its impact assessment on CAP reform. Within the hundreds of pages of documents, pesticide use reduction is not mentioned once. Read PAN Europe’s press release here.
Study on rats said to show that the chemical, found in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller, poses ‘a significant public health concern’. According to the pilot study, the substance can have disrupting effects on sexual development, genes and beneficial gut bacteria at doses considered safe. Read the full article on The Guardian here.
After more than 40 years of widespread use, new scientific tests show that some popular weedkilling products, like Monsanto’s widely-used Roundup, have higher rates of toxicity to human cells than their active ingredient by itself. Read the full article on The Guardian here.
EU farmers have welcomed the European Commission’s new rules on transparency in food safety assessments. However, it is still uncertain to which extent this will ensure that future decisions will actually be based on science. Read the full article on Euractiv here.
On April 11, the European Commission proposed giving itself new powers to request scientific studies on the safety of products, in an effort to quell public concerns that industry has too much influence over the process. If adopted, the new rules will affect all companies looking to approve a wide range of products, including genetically modified […]
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.
By Emilia Korkea-aho and Päivi Leino In November 2017, after a great deal of political maneuvering, the EU Member States decided to extend authorization for glyphosate, the world’s best-selling herbicide, for a period of five years. Eighteen Member States voted in favour of the extension, nine voted against and one abstained. The decision came following a lengthy […]