The European Commission will continue the use of the controversial chemical herbicide glyphosate in the European Union for 10 more years after the 27 member countries again failed to find a common position for or against a prolongation, as Samuel Petrequin reports for the Associated Press.
The chemical, which is widely used in the bloc to the great anger of environment groups, had been approved in the EU market until mid-December. The Greens political group of the EU Parliament immediately urged the Commission to backpedal and ban the use of glyphosate.
Bayer bought Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018 and has been trying to deal with thousands of claims and lawsuits related to Roundup. In 2020, Bayer announced it would pay up to $10.9 billion to settle about 125,000 filed and unfiled claims. Just weeks ago, a California jury awarded $332 million to a man who sued Monsanto contending that his cancer was related to decades of using Roundup.
Greenpeace had called on the EU to reject the market re-approval, citing studies indicating that glyphosate may cause cancer and other health problems and could also be toxic to bees. The agroindustry sector, however, says there are no viable alternatives.
Source: Associated Press. Read the full story here
Photo: Credit AP / Haven Daley
