SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Protesters outside the European Commission on Monday demanded that the EU vote against extending Roundup's license, citing the carcinogenic effects of its key ingredient, Glyphosate. (Photo: AFP/Twitter)
'Historical Mistake': Green Groups Decry EU's Glyphosate License Extension
"The people who are supposed to protect us from dangerous pesticides have failed to do their jobs."
Nov 27, 2017
Green groups and public health advocates on Monday denounced the European Commission's vote in favor of extending the license of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup pesticide which scientists have labeled as a "likely carcinogen."
Eighteen member states of the European Union approved of the use of the weed-killer's use for the next five years, with nine voting against the extension and Portugal abstaining. Sixteen votes were needed for the extension to pass; Germany swung the vote after having been on the fence in recent weeks.
Greenpeace EU noted in a press release following the vote that the commission's new approval of the chemical is based on flawed science: a "health risk assessment of glyphosate, which states there is insufficient evidence of a cancer link, despite the WHO's classification of the weedkiller as a probable cause of cancer."
An assessment done by the World Health Organization in 2015 found it to be "probably carcinogenic."
"The people who are supposed to protect us from dangerous pesticides have failed to do their jobs and betrayed the trust Europeans place in them," said the group's food policy director, Franziska Achterberg. "The European Commission and most governments have chosen to ignore the warnings of independent scientists, the demands of the European Parliament and the petition signed by more than one million people calling for a glyphosate ban."
Friends of the Earth Europe also expressed dismay at the decision.
"Today's approval, even if only for five years, is a missed opportunity to get rid of this risky weedkiller and start to get farmers off the chemical treadmill," said the group's senior food and agricultural campaigner, Adrian Bebb. "Five more years of glyphosate will put our health and environment at risk, and is a major setback to more sustainable farming methods."
As the commission voted on Monday, protesters were gathered outside its headquarters in Brussels wearing masks and holding a sign that read "Democracy vs. Glyphosate."
Critics argued that the 18 countries that voted for the license extension did so under pressure from Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, which is used widely in Europe. In Germany alone, about 40 percent of crop-growing land is treated with the weedkiller. Monsanto has been accused of suppressing information about the potential dangers of Roundup and ghost-writing research that portrayed the herbicide in a positive light.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
avaazenvironmenteuropean unionfriends of the earthglyphosategreenpeaceherbicidesmonsantoroundupworld health organization
Green groups and public health advocates on Monday denounced the European Commission's vote in favor of extending the license of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup pesticide which scientists have labeled as a "likely carcinogen."
Eighteen member states of the European Union approved of the use of the weed-killer's use for the next five years, with nine voting against the extension and Portugal abstaining. Sixteen votes were needed for the extension to pass; Germany swung the vote after having been on the fence in recent weeks.
Greenpeace EU noted in a press release following the vote that the commission's new approval of the chemical is based on flawed science: a "health risk assessment of glyphosate, which states there is insufficient evidence of a cancer link, despite the WHO's classification of the weedkiller as a probable cause of cancer."
An assessment done by the World Health Organization in 2015 found it to be "probably carcinogenic."
"The people who are supposed to protect us from dangerous pesticides have failed to do their jobs and betrayed the trust Europeans place in them," said the group's food policy director, Franziska Achterberg. "The European Commission and most governments have chosen to ignore the warnings of independent scientists, the demands of the European Parliament and the petition signed by more than one million people calling for a glyphosate ban."
Friends of the Earth Europe also expressed dismay at the decision.
"Today's approval, even if only for five years, is a missed opportunity to get rid of this risky weedkiller and start to get farmers off the chemical treadmill," said the group's senior food and agricultural campaigner, Adrian Bebb. "Five more years of glyphosate will put our health and environment at risk, and is a major setback to more sustainable farming methods."
As the commission voted on Monday, protesters were gathered outside its headquarters in Brussels wearing masks and holding a sign that read "Democracy vs. Glyphosate."
Critics argued that the 18 countries that voted for the license extension did so under pressure from Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, which is used widely in Europe. In Germany alone, about 40 percent of crop-growing land is treated with the weedkiller. Monsanto has been accused of suppressing information about the potential dangers of Roundup and ghost-writing research that portrayed the herbicide in a positive light.
Green groups and public health advocates on Monday denounced the European Commission's vote in favor of extending the license of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup pesticide which scientists have labeled as a "likely carcinogen."
Eighteen member states of the European Union approved of the use of the weed-killer's use for the next five years, with nine voting against the extension and Portugal abstaining. Sixteen votes were needed for the extension to pass; Germany swung the vote after having been on the fence in recent weeks.
Greenpeace EU noted in a press release following the vote that the commission's new approval of the chemical is based on flawed science: a "health risk assessment of glyphosate, which states there is insufficient evidence of a cancer link, despite the WHO's classification of the weedkiller as a probable cause of cancer."
An assessment done by the World Health Organization in 2015 found it to be "probably carcinogenic."
"The people who are supposed to protect us from dangerous pesticides have failed to do their jobs and betrayed the trust Europeans place in them," said the group's food policy director, Franziska Achterberg. "The European Commission and most governments have chosen to ignore the warnings of independent scientists, the demands of the European Parliament and the petition signed by more than one million people calling for a glyphosate ban."
Friends of the Earth Europe also expressed dismay at the decision.
"Today's approval, even if only for five years, is a missed opportunity to get rid of this risky weedkiller and start to get farmers off the chemical treadmill," said the group's senior food and agricultural campaigner, Adrian Bebb. "Five more years of glyphosate will put our health and environment at risk, and is a major setback to more sustainable farming methods."
As the commission voted on Monday, protesters were gathered outside its headquarters in Brussels wearing masks and holding a sign that read "Democracy vs. Glyphosate."
Critics argued that the 18 countries that voted for the license extension did so under pressure from Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, which is used widely in Europe. In Germany alone, about 40 percent of crop-growing land is treated with the weedkiller. Monsanto has been accused of suppressing information about the potential dangers of Roundup and ghost-writing research that portrayed the herbicide in a positive light.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.