As the EU ponders glyphosate re-authorization, French national radio site examines claims that glyphosate is harmful

empty glyphosate herbolex container discarded in corfu olive grove
Credit: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Europe is preparing to re-authorize glyphosate for 10 years and as a preamble to this re-authorization, the media war is open between opponents and supporters of this re-homologation, with a lot of false information. Glyphosate is the most used weed killer in the world.

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First misconception: it is sprayed on crops in France . When you read an article about glyphosate, there is always a photo of a tractor spraying a product on beautiful crops. It’s never glyphosate , because that would instantly kill said crop! These images are therefore misleading. It is used to rid a field of unwanted weeds before sowing a crop, such as a cereal, or to weed an orchard, but in this case, taking care not to touch the fruit trees, under penalty of see them die immediately. It is for these reasons that you will simply not find glyphosate residues in our agricultural products.

Second misconception: glyphosate gives cancer, or Alzheimer’s disease. The European Health Security Agency and its 80 experts have reviewed all the scientific literature published on glyphosate: 2,400 studies analyzed, 180,000 pages of documents. Their conclusion is clear: under its authorized conditions of use, “the assessment of the impact of glyphosate on human health, animals and the environment, has not identified any area of critical concern”. In other words: no risk identified!

[Editor’s note: This article has been translated from French and edited for clarity.]

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