The European Commission has officially voted to renew approval of the use of glyphosate in the EU until December 15, 2033. Individual EU Member States have responsibility for authorizing plant protection products containing glyphosate within each country.
Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto-Bayer’s Roundup product line, which is one of the most widely used herbicides for food crops, and is a controversial agricultural chemical due to concerns over its toxicity. In July 2023, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) found “no critical health concerns” for humans, animals, or the environment associated with the herbicide. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared glyphosate a “probable carcinogen” in 2015, and institutions like Wageningen University and Research have called into question EFSA’s risk assessment of the chemical.
