How Germany triggered the new Glyphosate scandal

The European media are full of it. But in Brussels and Berlin, the new scandal about the weed killer glyphosate and the Monsanto group is simply being denied.

‘Glyphosate: The EU expert report is full of copied-and-pasted sections by Monsanto’ says ‘Le Monde’. ‘The accusations are as old as they are incorrect’, counters the EU Commission.

What is it about? It’s about roughly 100 of the 4,300 pages that make up the final report by the European agency EFSA from the year 2015 and of all things, it’s the most controversial chapters.

The EFSA, which is headquartered in Parma, Italy, expressed their desire for an extended authorisation of glyphosate – the EU Commission soon wants to follow them.

But now it turns out that the key passages of the supposedly independent ‘expertise’ has been copied from Monsanto. Quote from the Austrian television:

‘The chapters of the EFSA report which have been published so far and which describe the studies about the effect of glyphosate on human health, have essentially been copied word for word from a Monsanto report from mid-2012’, ‘La Stampa’ wrote. Back then, the US-based chemical company – now in possession of the German Bayer Group – submitted the report in the name of the consortium ‘Glyphosate Task Force’.

However, the EU Commission highlighted on demand of the ORF that the text fragments were not taken on from the EFSA.

They rather originate from a German report which is, in the glyphosate case, rapporteur for all national governments.

If that’s true, then it would make the whole thing even worse.

Because this would, of course, mean that Germany takes on a report by a German company without having examined it – and thereby prejudges a EU position…

The original post (in German) is here

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