Bayer objects to German ban on glyphosate weedkiller

Germany's Environment Ministry has announced that it will ban the use of glyphosate weedkiller from the end of 2023 and limit the use of the chemical before then, over claims in the US that it causes cancer. 

The German move follows a bill passed in Austria in July, which banned all uses of the chemical, and an announcement by 20 French mayors in August, that it would be banned in their municipalities, in defiance of the central government.

Glyphosate-based herbicides are the most common weedkiller products in the world and the substance is still cleared for use in the wider EU until the end of 2022.

Berlin said that it would reduce the use of glyphoste-based herbicides systematically from next year. The ban will begin with a substantial reduction in the quantity of herbicides containing the chemical through a ban on its use in private homes and gardens, as well as in public areas. There will also be a ban on its use before harvests and heavy restrictions on use before sowing and after harvests.

Monsanto developed glyphosate under the brand name Roundup. The patent on the chemical has now expired and it is marketed globally by a number of chemical companies including BASF and Dow Agrosciences.

In 2015, concerns emerged about the safety of glyphosate in the wake of a World Health Organisation conclusion that it probably caused cancer.

Bayer, which acquired Monsanto last year for $63-billion (€57-billion), has said that it disagrees with the German government's decision to implement a ban and that the weedkiller can be used safely.

“Such a ban would ignore the overwhelming scientific assessments of competent authorities around the world that have determined for more than 40 years that glyphosate can be used safely,” said the chemicals giant.

Glyphosate has been the subject of more than 18,000 US lawsuits over claims that it cayuses cancer. Bayer contests the charge, yet the issue has beleaguered the company since the completion of its acquisition of Monsanto, causing a massive drop in share prices and creating a shareholder revolt in April, a first in German corporate history. 

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