Members of the public in Portugal already have been contaminated with glyphosate, a herbicide that is 'potentially carcinogenic', according to an increasing number of European health bodies.
High levels have been detected in people in the north and centre of the country with the average concentration per person about twenty times of that found in Swiss and German citizens, according to a report broadcast on Portugal's RTP TV station.
Glyphosate is the highest selling herbicide in Portugal. The chemical mix was invented in the 70s by the US multinational Monsanto and has been one of its biggest profit earners ever since. Today in Portugal there are 20 or more brands containing glyphosate.
The World Health Organisation through the International Agency for Research on Cancer, studied glyphosate for a year and seventeen researchers took the unanimous decision to classify glyphosate as 'potentially carcinogenic.'
The European Food Safety Agency issued an alert as to the potential carcinogenic properties of glyphosate and the president of Portugal’s Medical Association, José Manuel Silva, said that glyphosate "should be suspended throughout the world".
"In the last decade, the glyphosate application in Portugal increased by about 50%, with 1,400 tonnes used in 2010 alone. The result is that glyphosate is already detected in routine analysis of food, air, rainwater and rivers, urine, blood and even breast milk," explained the president of the Medical Association last year, when glyphosate joined the World Health Organisation’s list of "potentially carcinogenic substances.
Silva’s opinion was not enough to avoid the Portuguese parliament voting to continue the herbicide’s use after PAN, the Left Bloc and the Greens proposed its prohibition in Portugal and proposed also that the government opposed the licence renewal in the European Union.
The current licence for glyphosate will expire in June. It is believed that currently 11 of the EU28 are opposed to relicensing, making it difficult for the European commission to come to a decision. Its negotiators are working on compromise proposals varying from a shorter extension, to a ban on certain ingredients.
Glyphosate, sold in Portugal by Monsanto under the brand name 'Roundup', also is sold freely for domestic use in supermarkets, plant nurseries and other stores and is used "in abundance" by almost all Portugal’s councils for weed control on verges, one of the most obvious ways the population is exposed to the chemical.
The final decision on whether there will be a ban will be made by the European Parliament in June, after a meeting of the expert committee and taking into account opinions from the agriculture ministers of the member countries. The European Parliament vote is non-binding on the Commission and EU member states, but carries 'moral weight' allowing those countries 'persuaded' by Monsanto to carry on carrying on.
With the deadline for the renewal of the marketing licence about to expire, for and against positions for the herbicide have been extreme with the credibility of the WHO classification being called into question, notably by Germany, even though it was taken unanimously and the detailed scientific research published for peer review.
Some countries already have restricted the use of glyphosates without waiting for an EU position. France banned all glyphosate herbicides last week. Portugal seems keen to continue the chemical's use although the Ministry of Agriculture now wants to see a a partial ban despite top medical opinion warning aganinst the herbicide's continued use.
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For TV report in Portuguese, see
http://www.rtp.pt/noticias/pais/ministro-da-agricultura-admite-proibir-glifosato-em-meio-urbano_v915374
For an article on glyphosates turning up in breakfast cereals, see:
http://ecowatch.com/2016/04/19/glyphosate-breakfast-foods/
and for some light relief
http://worldnewsdailyreport.com/monsanto-ceo-gets-well-deserved-600-million-bonus-for-last-year/
Comments
Glyphosate can be absorbed by the dermal, respiratory or gastrointestinal tract. The Ordem dos Medicos the president, José Manuel Silva, drew attention to the "toxicity" and "evidence of risks" of glyphosate, referring to studies that "demonstrate the epidemiological association of glyphosate and increased of diseases such as celiac disease, infertility, birth defects or kidney disease.
This is just window dressing to appease eco-votes.
The stuff is used literally by the ton by farmers, who pretty much spray the entire countryside with it before planting crops. Those few skirts in the garden are not what's causing the problem.
If there would be a real ban on glyphosate, it would mean major changes in farming practice and considerable cost. It would have to be EU wide at least.
Expect tractors blocking off the roads for a while if that gets serious, and there could be some pushback from the aggro-pharmaceutical industry too. They are known to occasionally make a fuss about this sort of thing.
Here in Portugal user licensing has come into effect, adding a layer of bureaucracy that prevents non-professional users from buying weed killer [and pesticides] in concentrate form.