Monsanto in the spotlight again

The weedkiller Glyphosate is at the centre of an international row over the safety of its use.

The EU is due shortly to announce a decision on its continued use.

Some scientists believe its use carries a possible carcinogenic effect, others disagree.

Glyphosate was brought into use by Monsanto in the 1970s and is used in its top-selling product Roundup and many other herbicides around the world.

The herbicide is so widely used that its residues are commonly found in British bread. Two in every three loaves of bread sold in the UK contain pesticide residues, according to an analysis in 2014 of government data by environmental campaigners.

The study revealed that 63% of the loaves analysed had traces of at least one pesticide, with the most common being glyphosate, followed by plant regulator chlormequat and the insecticide malathion.

Last year the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found that the herbicide is probably carcinogenic to humans.

Last month the European Food and Safety Authority (Efsa) decided that it probably is not. This could well indicate that the concoction could be relicenced by the EU.

This has left the scientists involved in a squabble amidst claims of non-credible research and accusations of influence exerted by interest groups.

It has been reported that the two bodies have agreed to meet early this year in an effort to understand the scientific divergences in each body of research, particularly the question of the combination of glyphosate and other chemical pesticides.

The affair leaves the EU in a tricky position. It may relicence the product, it may ban it, or it could leave the matter to each member state.

Glysophate is believed to bring in some $5bn (£3.5bn) a year to Monsanto.

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