Roundup - killer glyphosate

[Another post in Rubbish in our Environment series]


We are waiting for an important EU vote (by the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed -PAFF). If we (in Thailand) are not, we are missing a BIG BLIP on our radar. We should be watching more carefully. The vote is whether to allow use of a chemical weed killer - glyphosate or by its comercial name Roundup. Thai farmers and thier rural neighbours have been exposed to chemical for a long time and may have been affected by its toxicity. There are research studies that conclude "Glyphosate causes extreme disruption of the microbe's function and lifecycle. What's worse, glyphosate preferentially affects beneficial bacteria..."; WHO says glyphosate is 'probably carcinogenic to humans'; "...believed to be harmful to bees..."; and of course "Glyphosate is an herbicide. It is applied to the leaves of plants to kill both broadleaf plants and grasses."


An Internet search with "gyphosate" will list many more facts and conclusions for us to consider.

The EU (PAFF) vote will apply to EU imports. That means produces from Thailand will be allowed or banned based on residue tests for glyphosate. EU is an important export market for Thailand. Our rural economy depends very much on this vote.


I believe the vote will in the end "for more restrictive use of glyphosate" and public sentiment will be in favour of total ban of glyphosate for the sake of healthier environment. Thai farmers will be well prepared if they switched off Roundup and glyphosates from now so that 'produce of Thailand' can move freely through EU and throughout the world!

...
Europe stalls weed killer renewal, again
http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/05/europe-stal...
By Tania RabesandratanaMay. 20, 2016

...Glyphosate's current license expires on 30 June and its renewal has divided the European Union's member states after contradictory scientific assessments. The Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF), which is made up of representatives of the 28 states, was to decide on the renewal yesterday, but the European Commission canceled the vote—which was bound to be indecisive yet again...
...France opposes the renewal whereas other countries—including Germany, the Netherlands, and Portugal—were intending to abstain, says a source close to the negotiation. “Since it was obvious that no qualified majority would have been reached, a vote was not held,” a commission spokesperson says in a statement forwarded to ScienceInsider and quoted by other news outlets...
...Indeed several recent, authoritative scientific assessments have reached conflicting conclusions. In March 2015, the United Nations's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans," saying there is “limited evidence” that the weed killer causes cancer in humans but “sufficient evidence” from animal studies. Yet in November 2015, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) said glyphosate is unlikely to cause cancer in humans...
...Monsanto, which manufactures glyphosate under the commercial name Roundup, has slammed the delays as “not scientifically warranted.”...
...Yesterday, the commission said that if no decision is taken before the end of next month, “glyphosate will be no longer authorized in the EU and Member States will have to withdraw authorizations for all glyphosate-based products.”...