Reacción a "Reactions: EU to renew glyphosate authorisation for 10 years"

For me the decision is surprising, not because of the European Commission's continued support for the agrochemical industry and certain models of large-scale agriculture, but because it announced a renewal of the permit without the necessary majority [in the committee representing the member states] and also because it did so for 10 years (instead of five as last time)**. The decision to renew the glyphosate permit also contradicts the European Commission's intention to reduce pesticide use by 50% in 10 years as planned in the Farm2Fork programme, published in 2020. 

Following the consideration of glyphosate as potentially carcinogenic by the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer, of the World Health Organisation) and some judgements against agrochemical companies for health problems of people derived from the use of glyphosate, together with the non-consensus within the member countries, the precautionary principle should have been applied. 

The difference in voting among EU countries is not based solely on the belief in scientific studies and estimates. The main doubts of the member states are whether each country will be able to make a transition to a different type of agriculture without major economic losses and without massive anger on the part of farmers. In the current context of agriculture, with important demographic, socio-economic and ecological challenges, the regulation of pesticide use is a great opportunity to solve many problems at the same time, such as the precariousness of agricultural work, the lack of relief, the high environmental impacts or the low agricultural income. It is a mistake to treat pesticide regulation as an isolated element within the agricultural system and policy. 

We cannot continue to poison ourselves, especially those people who use this pesticide directly, such as farm workers and farmers, or to pollute the environment and kill pollinating insects, on which we depend for food production. The future lies in a drastic reduction of pesticide use, and glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide in the world.