Let us begin by saying that this is not the usual petition. It is an official signature collection whose aim is to call on the European Commission to propose a legislative act banning the herbicide glyphosate once and for all from European soil. For it to succeed, the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) must be signed by at least 1 million citizens (out of a total of 510 million) residing in at least 7 of the 28 countries that make up the European Union (EU), within the space of one year.

Sign the initiative to say #StopGlyphosate

What glyphosate is and why it should be banned

Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in agriculture, the active ingredient in the commercial product Roundup, whose production patent was held by the multinational Monsanto until 2001. It is typically sprayed on crops, such as soya, that have been genetically modified specifically to withstand large doses of the herbicide. To date, it is the most widely used weedkiller in the world in agriculture. A report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), which operates under the United Nations and was published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, classified it as "probably carcinogenic" to humans. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), however, reached a different conclusion, stating that it is "unlikely that glyphosate poses a carcinogenic hazard to humans", though this conclusion has been accused of being substantially based on a previous German study funded by the very companies that manufacture weedkillers.

The signature collection for a total ban on glyphosate in Europe began on 8 February and is promoted by a large coalition of organisations committed to environmental and health protection in 15 countries, including the Italian #StopGlifosato campaign, of which LifeGate is also a member alongside 44 other organisations. "We support the new initiative of the European network: the widest possible public mobilisation is needed to keep attention high on the risks of glyphosate," said Maria Grazia Mammuccini, spokesperson for the #StopGlifosato coalition.

Action must be taken before the summer

Last June, the European Commission was forced to make up for the lack of a decision among the 28 European countries by unilaterally extending, for 18 months, the authorisation for the herbicide glyphosate, thus until 31 December 2017. This is why it is important for the initiative to succeed by next summer. European governments, including those that would have voted in favour of authorisation, found themselves in difficulty given the strong public opposition, which would have preferred glyphosate to be banned.

"This year we finally have the opportunity to remove glyphosate from our fields and our plates. More and more waterways in Italy and across Europe are being contaminated with this weedkiller, classified as a 'probable carcinogen' by IARC. Traces are found in food, in beverages and even in urine. The message to the Commission and to European countries is clear: the interests and health of people must come before the profits of agrochemical companies," said Federica Ferrario, sustainable agriculture campaign manager at Greenpeace Italia.

Towards sustainable agriculture

The text on which the ECI is based also denounces the lack of transparency in European procedures for the approval of pesticides, and therefore calls for a reform of the approval procedure through the establishment of binding reduction targets for their use in the EU. The battle to ban glyphosate must therefore be read within a broader framework, one that aims towards a new model of sustainable agriculture.

Sign the initiative to say #StopGlyphosate at www.stopglyphosate.org

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