As of: March 15, 2024, 3:36 p.m
By: Paula Völkner
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In 2023, the attempt to ban glyphosate failed.
Now the question arises again: Does the weed killer come from German fields?
Berlin – The Greens have been fighting for a ban on the weed killer glyphosate for years.
With the Greens' Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir, the party has a chance to restrict the use of glyphosate in Germany - so far without success.
But that could change.
According to reports in the
Bavarian Agricultural Weekly,
Federal Agriculture Minister Özdemir wants to have the restriction of glyphosate examined.
This emerges from a draft bill that is available to the
weekly newspaper
.
It was said that Özdemir wanted to make another attempt to have the use of the controversial drug banned in Germany as far as possible.
Last attempt 2023: Glyphosate ban failed due to EU vote
After the European Commission extended the approval for the weed killer glyphosate until 2033 in December 2023, Özdemir had to follow suit and deviate from the actual plan to ban the drug by law.
The Green Minister therefore introduced an emergency regulation that repealed the law that was originally supposed to ban the drug on January 1, 2024,
ZDF reported today
.
The regulation is valid until June 30th.
Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) makes a statement at a stand during a tour of the Green Week in Berlin in January 2024.
© Fabian Sommer/dpa
As early as December 2023, Özdemir told
ZDF today
that he wanted to revise the Plant Protection Application Ordinance “in the spirit of the coalition agreement” as a result of the Commission’s decision.
In the coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP originally agreed to remove glyphosate from the market by the end of 2023.
The problem with implementation: The FDP has apparently changed its mind.
That is also the reason why Germany abstained from the EU vote.
Controversial weed killer: Soils across Europe are “contaminated” with glyphosate
Glyphosate is suspected of being carcinogenic and is therefore highly controversial.
Dangers to the environment are also discussed again and again.
Johann G. Zaller, professor at the Institute of Zoology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, told
Deutschlandfunk
about the EU decision to extend the funding: “The EU Commission’s proposal reveals a systematic denial of the dramatic decline in biodiversity and scientific knowledge, that glyphosate contributes to this.
Impacts on soil organisms and soil health are not even mentioned in the proposal, although it is evident that soils across Europe are contaminated with glyphosate.”
Özdemir's draft provides for exceptions
According to the Wochenblatt, the draft bill proposes to ban the widespread use of glyphosate on permanent grassland from July 2024.
Authorities reserve the right to make exceptions under certain conditions, for example in cases where the weed population is so high that the use of glyphosate is necessary.
Some invasive species should also make an exemption possible.
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Farmers have recently often spoken out against a ban on glyphosate.
There was criticism of a ban because, among other things, German farmers would no longer be competitive on the international market.
The Bavarian Farmers' Association has already criticized Özdemir's announcement that he would restrict the use of glyphosate.
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