Roundup

Living near farmland can significantly increase people’s exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the widely used herbicide Roundup, new research shows. This chemical has been connected to health concerns, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a higher risk of preterm birth. We are environmental health scientists who study pesticide exposures in human populations, including exposures to herbicides. In our newly published research, we tracked glyphosate levels in pregnant women for 10 months. We found that those who were living within about a third of a mile (500 meters) of an agricultural field had significantly higher levels of glyphosate in their urine than those who lived farther away. Importantly, we only saw those differences during the time of year when farmers spray glyphosate on their fields, further suggesting agricultural spray as the source of this exposure. Our research also found that eating organic food, produced without the use of synthetic pesticides,...

Italy has given a favorable opinion to the European Commission's proposal to extend the use of the herbicide glyphosate for another 10 years.However, overall, a majority was not reached necessary for the green light.The contrary position of Austria, Croatia and Luxembourg weighed heavily, as did the abstention of Germany, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Malta.The extension of the authorization of the debated pesticide it has therefore been averted for now.For now.EU states will in fact be invited to vote on the appeal again in November.In this circumstance, the EU executive may modify the proposal, but if the qualified majority is not reached, it will be up to the European Commission to decide autonomously. The request for extension was made by a group of European chemical multinationals with strong commercial interests against the most used herbicide in the world, such as Bayer, Syngenta and Nufarm.Request which was then accepted and formalized by the EU Commission on t...