*[Enwl-eng] Glyphosate
ENWLine
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Bayer-Monsanto is fighting dirty to keep its toxic pesticide glyphosate in Europe. But our community can secure a pesticide-free future by putting pressure on France in a very delicate moment for Macron’s presidency. For it to work, we need people power at its best. |
Hi,
Bayer-Monsanto’s toxic, bee-killing pesticide just won’t go away. [1, 2]
Together, we fought to ban glyphosate in Europe. But EU discussions for it to stay on the market are underway. And Bayer-Monsanto lobbyists are bombarding European leaders with biased studies to make their case. [3]
We have a big opportunity to stop this. French President Emmanuel Macron has already said, when he takes on the highly influential EU presidency in a few weeks, he will push for “an accelerated phase-out of pesticides". [4, 5] With the French presidential elections around the corner, Macron will be under pressure to deliver on his promises.
But unless we keep the pressure up, it could be all talk. With Macron’s political future on the line, he will want to protect his reputation as a European leader who follows through with his commitments, both in France and throughout Europe. And a massive petition from beyond French borders to show him that all of us are watching could make sure he does just that.
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Bayer-Monsanto is working hard behind the scenes to make sure it can continue to sell its poison, glyphosate, beyond December 2022. To avoid a ban, they are relying on flawed, industry-funded studies to prove that glyphosate is “safe”. [6] All this is in spite of recent studies confirming its danger to humans and the environment. [7]
But we won’t let them ruin our future. Discussions are ongoing and many EU leaders have not yet taken their final position. France is a key country in this decision. It is one of the countries which can tip the balance in our favour in the upcoming votes. [8] And with its EU presidency role, Macron can also sway other leaders. [9]
Now it’s our turn to sway Macron, with a European wave that he can’t ignore.
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This is not our first fight for a pesticide-free future. In 2017, together, we built a giant movement to ban glyphosate in Europe. Despite pushes from the EU Commission and Bayer-Monsanto for a new 15-year license, our work as a community meant that it was only renewed for 5 years. And now, what we want is a definite ban. Together we can build an agriculture that protects our health, the environment and farmers. Sign the petition!
With hope,
David (London), Alex (Marseille), Olga (Bologna) and the
entire WeMove Europe team
References:
[1] The German chemical and pharmaceutical company
Bayer successfully completed the acquisition of Monsanto in 2018.
https://media.bayer.com/baynews/baynews.nsf/id/Bayer-closes-Monsanto-acquisition
[2]
The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), an agency of the World
Health Organization, concluded in 2015 that glyphosate is genotoxic and
carcinogenic to animals and "probably carcinogenic" to humans. IARC based its
analysis on studies published by academic researchers in scholarly journals:
https://publications.iarc.fr/549 ; “Glyphosate
perturbs the gut microbiota of honey bees”, Erick V. S. Motta, Kasie Raymann,
Nancy A. Moran, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2018,
https://www.pnas.org/content/115/41/10305
[3] Two
internationally renowned toxicologists confirmed in the summer of 2021 that the
vast majority of the 53 studies that formed the basis of the European
authorities' opinion on the genotoxicity of the pesticide do not meet the
criteria for compliance:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.sumofus.org/images/Evaluation_scientific_quality_studies_genotoxic_glyphosate.pdf
[4]
As President of the Council, France will set up the European work agenda for
this period and will even influence it for the next year and a half. The
presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every 6 months.
During this 6-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the
Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU's work in the Council Member
states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called
'trios'. The trio sets long-term goals and prepares a common agenda determining
the topics and major issues that will be addressed by the Council over an 18
month period.
[5] Emmanuel Macron's commitment at the World Congress of the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Marseille on September
4: "I want the French presidency of the European Union to take an initiative on
the subject of pesticides, and I am committed to doing so here, for an
accelerated phase-out of pesticides" In video and transcript [in French]:
https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2021/09/03/ceremonie-douverture-du-congres-mondial-de-la-nature-de-liucn
[6]
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/02/glyphosate-herbicide-roundup-corporate-safety-studies
[7]
Inserm publication: "Pesticides and health effects: New data", 30 June 2021 [in
French]:
https://presse.inserm.fr/publication-de-lexpertise-collective-inserm-pesticides-et-effets-sur-la-sante-nouvelles-donnees/43303/
[8]
France is the second-most populous country in Europe. For the upcoming votes,
the larger the population, the more your voice counts. The 27 EU Member States
will use qualified majority voting (QMV). This means that the decisions will be
adopted if at least 55% of member states (meaning 15 out of 27), representing at
least 65% of the EU population, approve.
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/voting-system/qualified-majority/
[9]
Please see reference 4.
WeMove Europe is an independent and values-based organisation that seeks to build people power to transform Europe in the name of our community, future generations and the planet.
WeMove Europe is funded by donations from our community across Europe. Can you chip in with a few euros a month and help make sure we can move fast to win the campaigns that matter to all of us? Donate
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