Martin, a French student, has a glyphosate level in his urine 31 times higher than the permitted maximum. Yet he is careful about what he eats.
"I was sure that the analysis of my urine would reveal the presence of glyphosate, but I certainly wasn't expecting the levels to be this high." The speaker is Martin, 26, originally from Toulouse, France, and a student of environmental sociology. Like many other ecologist activists across the Alps, over the past few months he has undergone tests to identify the presence of the pesticide – deemed "probably carcinogenic" by the World Health Organisation in July 2015.
What is striking is that in his case the level is 31 times higher than the authorised limits. Despite being vegetarian. And despite, like many other activists, paying particular attention to what he eats: "I try to favour organic food as much as possible, despite the difficulties students face. I had the impression I was being careful enough…", the young man added, as reported by the French press.
Alongside him, 44 people underwent the tests – in the presence of a bailiff. They have filed a new complaint for "endangering the lives of others", for "aggravated fraud" and for "compromising the environment". All of this within the framework of the campaign "I found glyphosate in my urine. And you?".
Back in September, 60 citizens of Ariège – a French department in the Occitania region, situated on the border with Spain – decided to file a complaint with the court. In their case, they found themselves with an average of 1.43 nanograms per millilitre in the samples taken, which represents 14 times the maximum authorised dose in drinking water.
The aim is to exert pressure so that the use of glyphosate – the substance at the heart of Bayer's (formerly Monsanto's) Roundup product – is banned on the basis of the precautionary principle. Meanwhile, on 15 January, the French administrative court of Lyon decided to annul the marketing authorisation for Roundup Pro 360.
Read also: Glyphosate, France fails to keep its promise: no ban by 2021
The judges ruled that the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Safety (Anses) had "committed an error of judgement with regard to the precautionary principle". This was in March 2017, when it granted its approval for the use of the product. However, this remains, for now, only a first-instance ruling.