100 percent of MEPs have the carcinogenic glyphosate in their system
All MEPs who volunteered to take a urine test were tested positive for the carcinogen glyphosate. A total of 49 MEPs participated in the test. On average, the MEPs had 1.7 micrograms/litre of glyphosate in their urine, which is 17 times higher than the European drinking water norm of 0.1 microgram/litre.
MEPs from various countries and different parties volunteered to take the test in April, as a way of demonstrating just how widely distributed the agricultural pesticide glyphosate is. “These results confirm the fear that it is impossible not to be affected by glyphosate. Adding to that the fact that glyphosate has been classified as “probably carcinogenic” by the World Health Organisation, it is evident that permitting the use of glyphosate means taking an irresponsible risk. This toxin should be taken off the market at once,” says Party for the Animals MEP Anja Hazekamp, one of the participants in the test.
SP MEP Anne-Marie Mineur, another participant, calls the results ‘an incentive to immediately stop the use of glyphosate’. “This study has shown that we are ingesting huge amounts of glyphosate, a highly controversial chemical that has been linked to health issues such as cancer and Parkinson‘s disease. In Europe, we have a precautionary principle which states that when a product’s safety cannot be guaranteed, we should not use it,” says Mineur.
On 19 May, all member states of the European Union will cast their vote on whether glyphosate should be allowed to remain on the market in the next ten years. Earlier, the Netherlands opposed the approval of glyphosate, but this position is very fragile. State Secretary Martijn van Dam only recently expressed a wish in the Lower House to vote in favour of a renewed approval of glyphosate, under certain conditions. The Party for the Animals finds this unacceptable and with a motion, which will be addressed in the Lower House the day before the European vote, the party wants to coerce the State Secretary to vote against the re-licensing of glyphosate. Other EU countries critical of a renewed approval are Italy, Sweden and France.