In this newsletter: another legal blow for Bayer in the US, the Great Glyphosate Court Case led by European NGOs, the risk of unregulated new GMOs and a new hope for pesticide regulation in the EU.
Why are so many politicians are afraid to take necessary steps to protect health and environment? They prefer to stick their head in the sand, and think they please their voters. So toxic business continues as usual. Pesticide producers continue to make huge profits, at the cost of society. We can't go on like that. We also see courageous people who don’t accept that. They stand up for the right to live in a healthy and toxic-free environment. In the US victims claim compensation for harm done to them. In the EU organisations go even further: they challenge the glyphosate authorisation in court. Please support this action. And the next time you cast a ballot make sure it is for a person or party that actively supports health and environment over toxic profits.
The Great Glyphosate Court Case
The Great Glyphosate Court Case has started! The re-approval of Europe’s most used and therefore most damaging herbicide will be challenged in court. Experts at Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe and their partners spent most of their Christmas break to prepare it. Their first objection had to be complete: no new argument can be included later in the case. Even the specialists were surprised by the incredible number of breaches in EU law and the way scientific evidence was brushed aside by the authorities. So it is a strong case.
As a reminder, the European Commission gave the green light to 10 more years of glyphosate in late 2023. A disaster for health, biodiversity, soil and water. Many independent scientific studies show these dangers. Farmers themselves are the first victims. PAN Europe and members Générations Futures, Global2000, PAN Germany, PAN Netherlands and Client Earth challenge the decision first at the EU (obligatory) and next in court.
It will be a tough court case against the top-selling herbicide and the flagship of chemical agriculture. Bayer-Monsanto and other producers will join, so the NGOs will face a battery of extremely well-funded opponents. But science and the EU pesticide Law are on our side.
There are other cases led by various organisations against the re-approval of glyphosate. Secrets Toxiques' case focusses on the lack of testing on the representative Roundup formula. Aurelia Stiftung and Deutsche Umwelt Hilfe's case focusses on the effects on biodiversity. Criigen's case focusses on another aspect. PAN Europe and partners' case combines all arguments and is very well substantiated. The case already required a significant amount of work and resources from the experts and lawyers. Much more is to come. And you can help to make this case a success.
Click here to support the Glyphosate Court Case
You can also donate directly to their bank account:
Pesticide Action Network Europe,
IBAN: BE72 7340 2990 5816,
BIC/SWIFT: KREDBEBB
Bayer shaken by another loss in US Court
Shares of Bayer have lost half of their value since June 2023. Now the company is hit by another major loss. A jury in the Philadelphia Court found Bayer guilty and the company was ordered to pay 2.25 billion dollars to a gardener who developed cancer from exposure to Roundup. The jury found that his non-Hodgkins lymphoma was the result of using the herbicide for yard work at his house for a period of several years. The verdict includes $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages. Bayer will appeal, but this is the fourth major blow in a short period. Shareholders are not going to be happy. Read more here.
New GMO techniques not regulated in the EU? A disaster for health and biodiversity
Industry lobbyists and technology freaks managed to push a legal proposal to further intensify agriculture. It will make farmers and consumers even more dependent on big corporations that control the food chain. Plants manipulated with new genomic techniques (NGT) will not be regulated in this EU proposal. There will be no safety checks and no labelling as is already the case in the US, so you won’t know what’s in your food. They are sold as ‘harmless’ and ‘equal to natural breeding’, but that is highly misleading. And no, they’re not the miracle solutions to all problems. It can lead to a surge in pesticide use with herbicide resistant or even pesticide producing plants.
Concerned? Use the easy tool to write ministers in EU countries. Include a text that they should not allow new GMOs on EU fields and plates.
New Hope for an EU Pesticide Reduction Law
The EU Parliament declared it dead in November, but EU Countries and Commission will continue preparing a new pesticide law. The Belgians who will preside over the meetings in the coming months have some plans for that.
But let’s make sure these plans include serious and mandatory pesticide reduction. This is urgent to avoid biodiversity collapse and stop the harm to health.
What can you do? Directly contact the ministers of your (EU) countries to show them you care. Use our easy tool to write them and add your personal message. And please do send a message to the Belgians too (choose Belgium as country).
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Your donations help us to inform people and to keep the work of the Monsanto Tribunal visible. If we raise more than our costs (no salaries involved as we are volunteers), the rest will go to the Great Glyphosate Court Case. Thank you again!
