*[Enwl-eng] Stopping secrecy on pesticides
ENWLine
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The EU is negotiating final legislation that could improve transparency in our food system and stop glyphosate for good! Let’s show our representatives that we want to protect food safety, not industry secrets! |
Hi,
Just last week the European Parliament, Commission, and Council met for the first time to negotiate the final proposal that could result in the toxic weedkiller glyphosate becoming banned in the EU, by making previously-secret industry studies available to the public. [1]
During our struggle to ban glyphosate last year, scientific studies were key. The pesticide industry said it had studies demonstrating that glyphosate was "safe” - but kept them secret from citizens and independent scientists alike. The EU allowed the use of glyphosate for another five years - on the basis of these secret industry studies. [2]
Last month, the European Parliament voted for strong legislation that would end this kind of secrecy. Industry players had been lobbying our MEPs hard to derail the proposal. But the WeMove community inundated MEPs with messages demonstrating widespread support for transparency in our food system. Now it’s time for the EU institutions to negotiate for a final agreement: If all of us join the call, we can still tip the scale in safety’s favour.
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The proposed change to the General Food Law regulation is an ambitious departure from the industry-favoured procedures that currently exist in the EU. If this legislation passes, we’ll finally have the tools to challenge the likes of Monsanto – now Bayer – when glyphosate and other dangerous chemicals come up for approval in the EU.
This change didn’t come about by itself - it’s a direct response to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to ban glyphosate, which our community worked tirelessly for last year. One of the demands was to “ensure that the scientific evaluation of pesticides for EU regulatory approval is based only on published studies...” [3]
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It’s been over two years since our community began a massive EU-wide campaign to stop glyphosate. Since then, we’ve shifted the debate throughout Europe, achieved further restrictions on glyphosate in a number of EU countries, and kept industry on its toes. [4] If we can get this piece of legislation passed, we’ll have far more tools to oppose glyphosate and other dodgy chemicals entering our food chain in the future.
Thank you for being with us at each stage in this struggle,
Mika (Bordeaux), Jörg (Lübeck), Virginia (Madrid), and the rest of us at WeMove.EU
PS: The next decision on glyphosate is coming up fast. If we win this legislation, we can get the EU to publish the safety tests that Monsanto – now Bayer – will submit next year in order to get the EU’s green light for glyphosate. Once we have these tests, we can hire the best independent scientists to analyse them! If we want to stop glyphosate for good, we need to see the studies that industry wants to keep secret. Sign now to tell your MEPs, your governments, and the EU Commission to do just that.
References
[1]
http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/initiatives/successful/details/follow-up/2017/000002/en?lg=en
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CONSIL:ST_8518_2018_INIT&from=EN
[2]
http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/documents/3496/DS_Annex.pdf
https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/civil-society-questions-europes-perfect-pesticide-authorisation-system/
[3]
http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/initiatives/successful/details/2017/000002
[4]
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20171020IPR86572/meps-demand-glyphosate-phase-out-with-full-ban-by-end-2022
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-sets-new-restrictions-on-glyphosate/a-46172338
https://phys.org/news/2018-09-czech-republic-restrict-glyphosate-weedkiller.html
WeMove.EU is a citizens’ movement, campaigning for a better Europe; for a European Union committed to social and economic justice, environmental sustainability and citizen-led democracy. We are people from all walks of life, who call Europe our home whether we were born in Europe or elsewhere.
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