Slow Food: Eu Member States do not reach a qualified majority on glyphosate authorization renewal. Another vote to take place in November

“The fact that there was no agreement on renewing the authorisation for glyphosate shows there are different understandings and levels of ambitions as to what sustainable food systems look like”, comments Marta Messa, Slow Food Secretary General. The Commission will now refer the vote to the Appeal Committee in the coming weeks. In case of no agreement by the Committee as well, it will be up to the European Commission to decide on the renewal.

“We now urgently call on those States which voted in favor of a renewal, and those who abstained, to take into account what citizens really ask for and take a strong decision against the renewal when they will be asked to vote again”, adds Madeleine Coste, Slow Food Advocacy Director. The results of a European poll conducted in 6 EU countries by the French market research agency IPSOS and published by PAN Europe, for instance, show broad public support for ambitious EU pesticide legislation: European citizens don’t want to take risks when it comes to their food, their health and the environment. A wide majority of respondents (62%) believe that the use of glyphosate should be banned in the EU, whilst as many as 81.8% of respondents are concerned about the environmental impact of pesticide use. “This vote will also come at a very sensitive time, when EU leaders within the Parliament and Council are called upon to outline the new regulation on the sustainable use of pesticides (SUR), which aims to cut the use of pesticides in the EU by 50 percent by 2030 to protect nature, pollinators and people”, concludes  Coste.

If you want to know more, here is the Slow Food podcast on GMOs and Pesticides

Slow Food actively campaigned against the renewal of glyphosate and in favor of a strong reduction of pesticides as part of the European Citizens Initiatives (ECI)  #StopGlyphosate and Save bees and farmers, both of which were successful in collecting over 1 million signatures across Europe. The decision EU countries made to renew the authorisation for glyphosate, and the risk that they will vote against the Regulation to reduce the use of chemical pesticides in the coming months is a strong and worrying deep signal against citizen participation in public policy. You can participate in Slow Food’s “Say Goodbye to Toxics” action and send an email to your political representatives via this link.