In the name of public health and the environment, European scientists and NGOs opposed to the renewal of glyphosate authorisation in the EU are stepping up their respective campaigns in an attempt to influence the position of the European Commission or that of the Member States, which will vote on 16 November in an appeal committee on the Commission’s proposal to renew authorisation for the active substance for a further 10 years (see EUROPE 13278/13).
The scientific data is clear enough to justify a ban, according to the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), which, in a press release dated 3 November states that the herbicide ingredient can cause toxic effects and serious illnesses, such as fatty liver, oxidative stress, DNA damage, neurological damage and cancer. A statement published the same day lists the evidence.
ENSSER points out that the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) “have neglected to consider extensive, damning scientific evidence from laboratory and population studies on the effects of glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides on human health, biodiversity and ecosystems”.
ENSSER therefore believes that glyphosate should be banned from the market and that the Commission’s proposal to renew the market authorisation for glyphosate “constitutes a flagrant abandonment of the precautionary principle, which the Commission is legally bound to uphold”.
On the same day, the Stop glyphosate coalition made public an urgent appeal to the EU Member States, in a letter drafted by PAN Europe (Pesticide Action Network Europe) scientist Angeliki Lysimachou, to oppose renewal in order to protect public health, taking into account the recent scientific study proving that glyphosate-based herbicides can cause leukaemia in young rats (see EUROPE 13280/18).
The ENSSER declaration: https://aeur.eu/f/9dl
Urgent call to Member States: https://aeur.eu/f/9dm (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)