European Union extends limited approval for glyphosate pending report on chemical's cancer-causing effects

Monday, July 18, 2016 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: glyphosate, European Union, GMO labeling

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(NaturalNews) Claiming that the controversial move will still restrict the use of glyphosate in parks and playgrounds, the European Commission has decided to temporarily extend approval for the pervasive herbicide chemical, glyphosate (Roundup), pending the release of an upcoming report that promises to independently assess the chemical's carcinogenic potential.

Approved just days before the June 30 expiration of glyphosate's existing approval, the extension will allow glyphosate to continue to be used in certain agricultural settings, despite evidence that it lingers on crops and ends up in food. It may, however, restrict the use of glyphosate in pre-harvest desiccation, a common application on wheat and barley crops.

In the meantime, European Union member states will have to wait for the findings of the European Chemicals Agency ECHA to be released, the deadline for which is set for December 31, 2017.

Speaking at a press conference, European Commission spokesperson for Health and Food Safety, Enrico Brivio, explained the conditions of the extension, which represent a compromise between states like France and Italy that publicly called for a full ban on glyphosate, and other member states like Germany that weren't sure how to address the chemical's continued use.

Despite the findings of the World Health Organization-affiliated International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that glyphosate is probably carcinogenic to humans, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) came to its own conclusion that glyphosate is "unlikely" to cause cancer in humans. This disparity has been a major point of contention in the Brussels-led effort to issue a final ruling on the matter.

There was also contention over what member states were saying publicly, and what they were actually doing. European Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis told the media that Italy, France and Germany had all pushed the Commission to extend glyphosate's approval for another 15 years, despite the former two proclaiming publicly that they opposed the chemical.

Andriukaitis told the U.K.'s Express that failing to enact at least a temporary extension for glyphosate's approval could lead to E.U. member states facing possible lawsuits and therefore financial implications from Monsanto and other chemical companies. He referred to the extension as a "legal obligation" of the state, and lamented all opposition to it as "institutional deadlock."

EU 'restrictions' on glyphosate similar to GMO 'labeling' under fraudulent Stabenow-Roberts bill

The fact that E.U. leaders seem to form policy based on the threat of possible legal action from multinational chemical corporations, speaks volumes as to how little the will or interest of the people matters to these government hacks. It's the same thing we see here in the U.S., most recently with the fraudulent Stabenow-Roberts GMO "labeling" bill, which as we've reported repeatedly is actually an un-labeling bill in disguise.

This so-called compromise bill, which was rushed through at the last minute to prevent Vermont's actual GMO labeling bill from coming into effect, bars individual states from informing consumers about the presence of genetically-modified organisms in food. It also exempts nearly every single GMO from actually having to be labeled, making it nothing more than a sham intended to pull the wool over the eyes of the public.

Just like GMOs, there's no legitimate purpose for glyphosate's existence other than to enrich the pockets of chemical company executives and inflate stockholder dividends. Neither product is necessary for anything that benefits the average person, and both products have a laundry list of health effects that are well-documented in the scientific literature, but that are repeatedly ignored by health officials and others who create policy.

The only way to really ensure that you're avoiding both glyphosate and GMOs is to grow your own food. And you can do that with a product like the Vertical Garden Tower, a backyard farming solution that requires minimal space and that's easy to use.

Sources for this article include:

Phys.org

Express.co.uk

EcoWatch.com