Citizens take down Roundup: Giant weedkiller bottle toppled as Europe debates future of cancer-linked chemical
*1.3 Million Europeans call for glyphosate ban in fastest growing citizens initiative*
High-Res images for editorial use
Dozens of citizens have toppled a giant 4 meter glyphosate bottle outside the European Commission to symbolise over 1.3 million people across Europe calling for a ban of the cancer-linked weedkiller.
EU member states were meeting on Wednesday to discuss the future of glyphosate after the fastest growing citizens’ initiative in history demanded an end to its use, a reduction in pesticides generally, and transparency reforms in their safety assessments.
Bert Wander, Avaaz Campaign Director said: “Europe has to decide whether it’s working on behalf of its citizens or big chemical companies like Monsanto. The public don’t want their food, fields and playgrounds drenched in a chemical that could give them cancer. Europe should ban glyphosate unless it can be proven to be safe.”
The European Commission is proposing relicensing glyphosate for ten years, despite the UN’s independent cancer experts, IARC, saying that it is a “probable” cause of cancer.
Since making the link, IARC has been subjected to a smear campaign coordinated by Monsanto, according to investigative reporting at Le Monde.
Serious concerns have also been raised about the corporate capture of the glyphosate regulatory process. The inspector general of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched an investigation into potential collusion between a former senior staff member and Monsanto, the world’s biggest glyphosate producer. Additional information suggests that the same EPA employee played an improper role in the European safety assessment of glyphosate.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) have said it is unlikely to cause cancer. But Dr Christopher Portier, one of ninety-six independent scientists who publicly stated that the EFSA assessment is not supported by the evidence, found that EFSA and ECHA failed to identify numerous tumour findings in the confidential industry-submitted animal studies. The bodies responded that the studies “have been adequately considered and therefore [they] see no need for [their] evaluations to be revisited”.
EFSA and ECHA have pointed to serious environmental damage caused by the chemical and EFSA is also currently assessing evidence that glyphosate disrupts the human hormone system.
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Contact on the ground: Julie Deruy / +336 76 47 72 59 / julie@avaaz.org
Contact for follow-up: Daniel Boese / +491778405700 / daniel.boese@avaaz.org