A possible ban on the popular herbicide glyphosate in Brazil, because the chemical is suspected of causing cancer, would be a disaster for Brazil's agriculture. This was stated yesterday by Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi.
On 3 August, a court in Brazil ruled that no glyphosate-containing plant protection products should be allowed to be marketed from September until the health authority Anvisa found in a counter-opinion the harmlessness of the remedy.
Maggi said 95% of corn and soybean land in the country is treated with glyphosate-containing agents and there is currently no alternative. Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of soybeans and a big player in corn production and trade.
By glyphosate, the cultivation is only economical. There is currently no alternative, according to Maggi at an event in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil's Attorney General is currently preparing an application to reject the court ruling. Maggi is confident that will succeed.
The court ruling in Brazil is a building block in the global fight against the chemical glyphosate.Last week, a California state court ordered Monsanto to pay a plaintiff suffering from cancer € 250 million in damages.
Monsanto was acquired by the German Bayer Group at the beginning of this year. A company spokesman said that there were already more than 800 reviews that declare glyphosate harmless. These include the US Environmental and Health Administration.
Brazil's Attorney General is re-negotiating the case after 2008 and wants to obtain a new Opinion from the Health Authority Anvisa. A WHO assessment in 2015 classified glyphosate as potentially carcinogenic. This includes the possibility that the remedy is safe.
If the judgment goes into effect for existing products, it could delay the sowing of soybeans, which usually takes place from September. The sale of glyphosthaltigen funds would have to be stopped and the application would be illegal and punishable.
There is no timetable as to when the health authority intends to submit the required report.
