Why is this important?

Bayer-Monsanto’s toxic, bee-killing pesticide just won’t go away. [1] [2]

Together, we fought to ban glyphosate in Europe. But EU discussions for it to stay on the market are underway. And Bayer-Monsanto lobbyists are bombarding European leaders with biased studies to make their case. [3]

We have a big opportunity to stop this. The French president Emmanuel Macron has already said, when he takes on the highly influential EU presidency in a few weeks, he will push for “an accelerated phase-out of pesticides". [4] [5] And, above all, with the French presidential elections around the corner, Macron will be under pressure to deliver on his promises.

But unless we keep the pressure up, it could be all talk. With Macron’s political future on the line, he will want to protect his reputation as a European leader who follows through with his commitments, both in France and throughout Europe. And a massive petition beyond the French borders to show him that all of us are watching could make sure he does just that.

References:

1. The German chemical and pharmaceutical company Bayer successfully completed the acquisition of Monsanto in 2018. https://media.bayer.com/baynews/baynews.nsf/id/Bayer-closes-Monsanto-acquisition
2. The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), an agency of the World Health Organization, concluded in 2015 that glyphosate is genotoxic and carcinogenic to animals and "probably carcinogenic" to humans. IARC based its analysis on studies published by academic researchers in scholarly journals: https://publications.iarc.fr/549 ; “Glyphosate perturbs the gut microbiota of honey bees”, Erick V. S. Motta, Kasie Raymann, Nancy A. Moran, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oct 2018, https://www.pnas.org/content/115/41/10305
3. Two internationally renowned toxicologists confirmed in the summer of 2021 that the vast majority of the 53 studies that formed the basis of the European authorities' opinion on the genotoxicity of the pesticide do not meet the criteria for compliance: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.sumofus.org/images/Evaluation_scientific_quality_studies_genotoxic_glyphosate.pdf
4. As President of the Council, France will set up the European work agenda for this period and will even influence it for the next year and half. The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every 6 months. During this 6-month period, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU's work in the Council Member states holding the presidency work together closely in groups of three, called 'trios'. The trio sets long-term goals and prepares a common agenda determining the topics and major issues that will be addressed by the Council over an 18 month period.
5. Emmanuel Macron's commitment at the World Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Marseille on September 4: "I want the French presidency of the European Union to take an initiative on the subject of pesticides, and I am committed to doing so here, for an accelerated phase-out of pesticides" In video and transcript [in French] : https://www.elysee.fr/emmanuel-macron/2021/09/03/ceremonie-douverture-du-congres-mondial-de-la-nature-de-liucn

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