UK farming unions, have joined forces to fight off desperate last minute attempts by campaigners to

NFU Scotland, and other UK farming unions, have joined forces to fight off desperate last minute attempts by campaigners to thwart the re-registration of glyphosate.

The unions have jointly written to the European Commission and key UK Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to urge them to reject efforts by the European Parliament’s Environment Committee and others to undermine this re-registration.

Glyphosate is the world’s most widely used herbicide and is widely and safely used here in Scotland, both to control weeds and as a tool to ripen grain.

It is also approved for the control of weeds along riverbanks, including invasive species such as giant hogweed, because its properties means it is less likely to leach into the water, and if it does get into water it is easily removed in water treatment works.

The European Food Safety Authority – the key advisor to the European Union on pesticide safety – concluded that “glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic hazard to humans”. This echoed earlier conclusions reached by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Germany, which conducted the detailed review of glyphosate in the earlier stages of the re-registration process.

Anti-pesticide campaigners and some politicians have sought to dismiss this best available science about glyphosate’s safety, and have instead tried to derail the re-registration by calling for further research.

One of the signatories on the letter, NFU Scotland’s President Allan Bowie commented: “Glyphosate is a hugely important part of farmers’ toolboxes and is used responsibly by farmers across Scotland and the EU. The best available science says it’s safe. We must be led by that and not the campaigning rhetoric of a few anti-science voices who care little about food production and price.

“NFU Scotland trusts that the European Commission, MEPs and many member states will see through the rhetoric from the anti-science lobby, and re-register glyphosate at the earliest possible opportunity.

“Failure to re-register glyphosate would be a huge blow for science-led decision making in the European Union, and would not stop the importation of non-EU products grown with the use of glyphosate.

“At a UK level, industry experts have estimated the impacts on crop production would be some €633m per year.

At a farm level, the loss of glyphosate would be a huge blow, greatly increasing the time and cost associated with managing weeds and producing high quality and affordable crops. It would also significantly undermine the lower greenhouse gas farming systems of no-till and min-till.”