The European Union rejects the scientific evidence that glyphosate is carcinogenic. This evaluation will form the basis of the debate on its re-authorization in the EU. The Health and Environment Alliance report warns that failure to recognize the carcinogenic potential of the substance would be a step backward in Europe’s fight against cancer.
Experts’ Opinions on Glyphosate
When the European institutions and EU member states began re-evaluating glyphosate for possible recovery, the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) examined 11 animal studies from 2019. Renowned experts have found the presence of statistically significant tumors, which confirms the classification of glyphosate by The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a “probable carcinogen.”
Researchers have reported the occurrence of malignant lymphomas, kidney and liver tumors, and skin tumors. The toxicologist and co-author of the report, Dr. Peter Clausing, found that: “Animals exposed to glyphosate developed tumors with a significantly higher incidence compared to their unexposed control group, an effect that international and European guidelines consider evidence of carcinogenicity.”
The EU Will Re-authorize the Harmful Pesticide
Professor Christopher Portier, an independent expert on the design, analysis, and interpretation of environmental health data specializing in glyphosate, said that glyphosate promotes cancer: “In ten of the eleven animal studies, the animals developed tumors. Regardless of how you look at it, there is ample evidence of carcinogenicity. And this evidence meets the criteria for classifying glyphosate as a substance suspected of having a carcinogenic potential in humans.”
However, despite the views of the Assessment Group on Glyphosate (AGG) and the Risk Assessment Committee (RAC) in collaboration with the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), they have publicly stated that there is insufficient evidence that glyphosate causes cancer. Furthermore, they concluded that they all happened by accident and that none of them were related to the harmful pesticide exposure.
Nevertheless, the risk assessors of glyphosate in the EU refused to accept the expert findings in the analysis. The European Commission and the EU Member States will accept applications to extend the license for glyphosate for 15 years. Vulnerable groups will continue to be at risk of exposure to the harmful pesticide, as all indications of scientific irregularities have so far been entirely rejected.
Source: generations-futures.fr/actualites/glyphosate-et-cancer/
Photo credit: Pixabay.com
