Court Orders EPA To Reassess Glyphosate Hazard

According to FreshFruitPortal.com, a United States Federal Appeals Court last week ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to examine whether glyphosate, the controversial chemical in Bayer AG's Roundup weed killer, poses unjustified hazards to persons and the environment.

Photo Insert: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with multiple environmental, farmworker, and food-safety advocacy groups in a 3-0 decision that the EPA did not fully consider whether glyphosate causes cancer and affects endangered species.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with multiple environmental, farmworker, and food-safety advocacy groups in a 3-0 decision that the EPA did not fully consider whether glyphosate causes cancer and affects endangered species, according to Reuters.

Groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Food Safety and the Rural Coalition, which represents farm workers, faulted the agency for rubber-stamping glyphosate despite its alleged harm to agriculture, farmers exposed during spraying, and wildlife such as the Monarch butterfly.

Circuit Judge Michelle Friedland wrote for the Pasadena, California-based appeals court that the EPA did not properly justify its findings that glyphosate did not threaten human health and was unlikely to be carcinogenic to humans. She also faulted aspects of the agency's approval process.

Bayer's Monsanto unit, which makes Roundup, opposed groups challenging the EPA reauthorization. The decision does not prevent people from using Roundup or similar products.

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