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European Commission Approves 5-year License Renewal for Glyphosate

posted by janrinok on Wednesday November 29 2017, @10:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-they-said-it-was-safe dept.

frojack writes:

Science Mag reports that the active ingredient in Monsanto's Round-Up weed killer and similar products is perfectly, er, probably, um, maybe safe enough for another 5 years.

The commission's Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF), made up of representatives from the commission's 28 member nations, couldn't agree on the length of a renewed license. PAFF initially proposed a 15-year renewal, then a 9-year renewal, and eventually settled on an 18-month extension.

Over the past 2 months, the committee again debated an extension, but no proposal secured the necessary "qualified majority" of PAFF members. But today [Nov 27] 18 countries voted in favor of a 5-year renewal, including Germany and three others that had abstained in the previous vote.

The case against glyphosate wasn't helped by the International Agency for Research on Cancer including it on its dubiously regarded Group 2A (probable carcinogens) along with Red Meat and Shift Work.

Stéphane Travert, agriculture minister of France (France voted for NO extension), sounded heroically determined on public radio when he proclaimed:

"These are 5 years during which we will work to search for alternatives, 5 years during which we will mobilize research and innovation so that tomorrow we can modify agricultural practices for our farmers and for the environment."

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by edIII on Wednesday November 29 2017, @10:44PM (3 children)

    by edIII (791) on Wednesday November 29 2017, @10:44PM (#603220)

    So who got paid for their votes? It's not a safe chemical whatsoever.

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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by c0lo on Wednesday November 29 2017, @11:25PM (2 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday November 29 2017, @11:25PM (#603243) Journal

    It's not a safe chemical whatsoever.

    So what? Is it like only the chemical solution is available?

    Here's an example: Harrington Seed Destructor [abc.net.au] - weed while you harvest, no till.

    The Harrington Seed Destructor (HSD) is the brainchild of Western Australian farmer Ray Harrington.

    The machine can be retro-fitted into modern grain harvesters and, with cage mill technology adapted from the mining industry, pulverises weed seeds to the point where they are no longer viable.

    This means that when the chaff is spread back over the paddocks after harvest, viable weed seeds are not spread in the process.

    Extensive research through the University of Western Australia has shown the machine kills 95 per cent of the weed seeds collected in the chaff.

    According to the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), weeds cost Australian grain farmers around $3.5 billion a year, and there is an increasing problem with weeds such as annual ryegrass that have built up a resistance to commonly used herbicides.

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    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @02:30AM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 30 2017, @02:30AM (#603249)

      That is going to require diesel. I wonder how much. It looks like a lot.

      It might need more diesel than the alternatives: tilling and burning. (assume the burning mainly uses the chaff as fuel)

      • (Score: 4, Interesting) by c0lo on Thursday November 30 2017, @03:06AM

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday November 30 2017, @03:06AM (#603261) Journal

        The applied glyphosate has itself an energy cost to produce.
        Google helped: this cost boils down to 195,000BTU/acre/application [extension.org] (scroll down to 'Table 1. Estimated manufacturing energy inputs for various pesticides (BTUs/lb), typical application rates (lbs/A), and energy per unit area of use (BTUs/A) on an active ingredient basis.').

        Perspective: [eia.gov] 1 gallon of diesel fuel = 137,452 Btu (distillate fuel with less than 15 parts per million sulfur content).
        I have a hunch running the seed destructor while harvesting will add less than 1 gallon of diesel per acre; I might be wrong though.

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