Question 1206 — dangerous products

Summary

Mr. Grégory Besson-Moreau alerts the Minister of Agriculture and Food about the French position related to glyphosate. Critics of the herbicide point to the World Health Organization (WHO) study which suggests the substance could cause cancer and therefore call for a total ban on it. On the other hand, the European agency in charge of chemicals (ECHA) and that of food safety (EFSA) considered that there was no reason to classify this substance as carcinogenic. In the event that glyphosate is banned, France could lose several billion euros. This would lead to a drop in yield and therefore a withdrawal of exports, particularly for cereals, around 1.06 billion euros for the cereals sector to which must be added 900 million euros for the vine. In addition, 73% of Farmers believe that the withdrawal would have an impact on the organization of work on their farm and 72% believe that the economic profitability of their farm would be impacted. This withdrawal from the market would therefore also represent an increase in production costs for the majority of glyphosate users, of up to 22% in viticulture and 26% for large crops. This would also result in a loss of profitability of up to 33% for cereal farms and 20% for wine farms. In addition, there are currently no equivalent alternative treatments. A short-term ban would therefore damage a sector already in difficulty. Furthermore, the seven exhaustive health assessments carried out by public authorities over the last 40 years have consistently concluded that glyphosate does not present any particular danger to humans. Finally, removing glyphosate without replacement treatment would lead to consequences that would go against the agro-ecological objectives sought, such as restoring plowing and soil erosion. Between a sudden withdrawal of this molecule and a renewal of the authorization for the next ten years, there is an intermediate position which must be studied, namely a gradual cessation which could allow progressive adaptation. Agriculture in general and those who do it must be listened to. He asks him what the Government's position is on these different perspectives.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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