Many thousands of you responded to our appeals to call on the European Commission to reject renewed authorization in the European Union of the toxic herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup and the world’s most widely-used herbicide. Our campaign and efforts by many other organizations resulted in an unprecedented level of public debate and pressure on the Commission.
But on June 28 the European Commission yielded to the agrochemical lobby and reauthorized the continued use of glyphosate despite mounting evidence of the harm it inflicts on public health, workers and the environment. The Commission acted unilaterally in the absence of a ‘qualified majority’ of EU governments and in the face of opposition from trade unions and civil society groups. The renewed authorization, which imposes few significant restrictions on glyphosate use at EU level, is valid for up to 18 months pending a review by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), where unions and public health campaigners will now be directing their efforts.
And now the European Food Safety Authority EFSA, whose industry-backed report served as the basis for the Commission’s push for glyphosate renewal, has introduced a protocol to EU pesticide Regulation 1107/2009 which would allow for a ‘derogation’ permitting the continued application of a group of highly toxic pesticides otherwise banned under the terms of the regulation.
These measures confirm the EU’s ongoing retreat from the precautionary principle, sustainable agricultural practices (under which pesticide applications are a last resort) and a hazards-based approach to protecting worker and consumer health and the environment.
The fight to defend worker and consumer health and safety and the environment continues – and we will continue to rely on your support.
Bad call EU!! Not good as we are sliding towards being a toxic dumpsite here in NZ also.
In NZ we are not CLEANGREEN any more sadly.
As we are using staggering amounts of highly toxic pesticides still today.
Worse still is our stubborn 20th century transportation system which is very high in releasing toxic contaminants also!!!
National are still sinking massive tax funds into truck routes and closing regional rail everywhere, so using trucks and no rail to transport everything is very bad for our climate change and future development here.
From just one Truck it has been discovered now will cause 200 times the amount of toxic air pollution than one car does when the 18 wheeled truck tyre emission’s of highly toxic “Tyre Dust” is factored into studies that was not previously considered!!!
So in several studies just released now Trucks are be large contributor of spreading all the tyre dust at 9kgs a km along our roads all across our pastures every day on busy roads we are advised by US Department of transport and EU authorities.
“Latex allergens in tire dust and airborne particles.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1469526/
A G Miguel, G R Cass, J Weiss, and M M Glovsky
Tyre dust contains 1,3, Butadiene which NOISH chemical exposure records state, “1,3, Butadiene causes cancer and nervous system damages, at the lowest permissible levels”.
So we are all but stuffed in NZ now because of National’s reckless transportation planning and destruction of our rail system here in NZ.
So when these dirty secrets get out to the world we will loose all our treasured markets as a toxic dump site where toxic food is produced.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/07/31/3554997.htmhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1469526/
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