Wealden Times | WT174 | August 2016 | Wedding supplement inside

The
Green
Goddess
Penny Kemp
considers the
toxic issue of
the world’s most
controversial
pesticide
Credit: FreeImages.com/Csba J. Szabo
Glyphosate is a weedkiller discovered in the
1970s, said to be the most effective of all
herbicides and for years, it has been declared
safe for users and harmless to the environment. More
commonly known as Roundup, it is used by millions of
gardeners and farmers around the world. But the scientific
community is now split on whether glyphosate is safe.
Recently, the International Agency for Research on
Cancer, a respected body within the World Health
Organization (WHO) said that glyphosate probably had
carcinogenic qualities that were harmful to humans. Then
another organisation, the EU Chemicals Agency, ECHA,
which also worked with the WHO, said that glyphosate
probably did not have carcinogenic qualities that were
harmful to humans.
So which was right? Scientists and environmentalists claim
that the ECHA had a conflict of interests. The chairman of
the panel had received a six-figure donation from the makers
of the pesticide, for another institute that he was involved
with - and the ECHA declared its findings two days before
the European Union was to rule on the re-licensing of
glyphosate - and particularly Roundup - for general use.
On top of this, in Germany it has been found that 99.6%
of people tested have glyphosate residue in their urine. Green
MEPs decided to have their own wee tested and the results
reveal that every one had glyphosate traces, with the average
concentration being 1.73ng/ml - more than 17 times the
safe level for drinking water.
NGOs and environmental groups were furious.
Professor Molly Scott Cato, a member of the European
Parliament’s agriculture committee, whose personal test
results show a glyphosate contamination level of 0.45ng/
ml, said: “With ongoing controversy over the health risks
of glyphosate, we can be quite sure it has no place in the
human body.
“Further, we hold concerns for its impact on biodiversity
with evidence of glyphosate having detrimental impact on
the honey bee, monarch butterfly, skylark and earthworm
populations and posing a threat to the quality of our soil.”
The decision from the European Parliament has not been
made yet and we await with interest to see the result, which
looks as if it will be delayed for the forseeable future. So if
you feel strongly about this issue, it is still worth lobbying
CHILSTONE FP EGUK JUN 16.indd 1
your MEP – we haven’t left the EU yet.
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125 wealdentimes.co.uk
ChilstoneWT174.indd 1 18/07/2016 15:09