The Center for Food Safety (CFS), on behalf of a coalition of agricultural workers, farmers and environmentalists, filed a federal lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the January 2020 re-approval of the pesticide glyphosate, an active ingredient. in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide product.
While the EPA defends glyphosate, a jury sided with the plaintiffs in several lawsuits, who demanded millions in compensation for the allegedly oncological development of glyphosate.
Now, according to activists from the Center for Food Safety, the EPA has approved further sales of the herbicide without fully assessing the damaging potential of glyphosate to human health, and also did not take into account the effects of the pesticide on endangered species.
"The EPA's biased and illegal endorsement sacrifices the health of farm workers and endangered animal species at Monsanto's profit altar," said George Kimbrell, CFS director of legal affairs and attorney for the coalition. - Payback for the Roundup is close!
While the EPA officially announced that glyphosate does not cause cancer, the World Health Organization voiced the opposite view earlier in 2015.
“Contrary to Trump’s EPA, both regulatory and independent scientific research confirms that glyphosate herbicides are carcinogenic and have adverse effects on internal organs,” said Bill Freese, Science Policy Advisor for CFS. "The agency not only does not consult the best available science, but relies heavily on Monsanto research, collecting data biasedly."
“Agricultural workers and farmers are the backbone of our food system. Their families will be the first to bear the huge cost of the EPA's irresponsible decision, while Monsanto-Bayer's corporate shareholders benefit,”said Lorette Picciano, executive director of the US Rural Coalition.
The Food Safety Center also blames the EPA for failing to collect baseline data on how much glyphosate is ingested through skin contact or inhalation of spray droplets, although these routes of exposure are especially important for agricultural workers and those who use Roundup.
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