10/December/19

 

Following the five-year re-approval of the active substance glyphosate by the EU in 2017, the French health and safety agency ANSES is reviewing the market authorisations for glyphosate products sold in France and has launched a comparative assessment of the available alternatives. Without waiting for the end of the current process, the Agency has notified the withdrawal of authorisations for 36 glyphosate products and the refusal to authorise 4 new products, as the data provided by manufacturers did not allow a decision to be taken on their possible genotoxicity. In 2018, these products accounted for nearly three-quarters of the tonnage of glyphosate-based products sold in France for agricultural and non-agricultural uses. GMWatch

 

 

Austria’s caretaker leader on Monday made clear she would not sign into law the European Union’s first national ban on the weedkiller glyphosate due to a technicality. Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein, a career judge who must sign bills for them to become law, said the bill could not come into force because the European Commission was not properly notified under a process aimed at giving it and member states time to react. Reuters

 

 

Three genetically modified maize varieties developed by Corteva (the new name of the Dow-DuPont merged entity) to withstand the application of the dangerous 2,4-D herbicide have been approved for general release by the Executive Council: GMO Act. The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) said it was "extremely alarmed" to learn of the development, which it said constituted ""More poisoning of South Africa's staple food". The ACB added that the approvals pose "a grave threat to the health of food consumers, farm workers and the environment". GMWatch

 

 

With just two days to go until one of the most critical elections in UK history, we’ve decided to do what we’ve never done before and answer the question: “Who would GMWatch vote for?” The reason for biting the bullet this time around is simple. Since becoming Prime Minister in late July, Boris Johnson has repeatedly pledged to “liberate” GMOs. Opening Britain’s doors to GMOs also seems to be key to allowing Johnson to do the kind of quick trade deal he wants with the United States. Recall that Donald Trump signed an Executive Order in June aimed at forcing countries like the UK to open their doors wide to GM crops from the US. We advise tactical voting to get Boris out of No 10 Downing St – and explain why. GMWatch