For its second newsletter, Pesticide Justice looks back at the last two months of pesticide-related news. The impacts of these toxic chemicals affect every country in the world, and the information in this newsletter covers the United States, Belgium, France, India and Mexico.

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Summary:

JURISDICTIONAL NEWS

USA: New $2 billion deal for Bayer to get out of future pesticide litigation

In the wake of the avalanche of lawsuits from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) patients over their use of Roundup herbicides, Bayer is attempting to clean up its act and settle pending lawsuits with out-of-court settlements.

Belgium: PHYTOPHAR against Walloon Region: Banning pesticides is forbidden!

On January 21, 2021, Belgium’s Council of State cancelled the Walloon Region’s March 2017 order banning the use of glyphosate-based herbicides in the region. The reason given by the Council of State: the ban would be too general and set for too long a period.

France: The Council of State wants to end the legal drama of the anti-pesticide orders

The Council of State refutes the competence of mayors to ban pesticides. However, this decision does not mark the end of the struggle of municipalities against the introduction of these substances. Other means of resistance are being put in place.

France: Anti-Pesticide Activist Convicted in a SLAPP

Bordeaux wine professionals fear for their brand image and have taken legal action against an anti-pesticide activist who published the results of pesticide analyses in HVE-labeled wines. The latter, along with her association, has been ordered to pay €125,000 in damages.

India: Pesticide poisoning in Yavatmal. Complaint to the OECD

The Swiss National Contact Point (NCP) of OECD responds favorably to the complaint filed in September 2020 by various groups, following the poisoning in 2017 of 51 Indian cotton farmers in the Yavatmal region (Maharashtra) by the pesticide Polo of the Swiss company Syngenta.

France: The controversial return of neonicotinoids

Banned since 2018, the use of neonicotinoids in French agriculture is once again allowed in sugar beet fields. This step marks a considerable setback in the legal advances made against these substances and endangers pollinator populations.

USA: Rollback of farm worker protection against pesticides challenged in court

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s tenure was marked by numerous legislative weakenings and exemptions on pesticides. EPA dealt a major blow to the health and safety of farm workers by weakening protections that prevent unnecessary and dangerous exposure to pesticides.

LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY NEWS

Mexico bans glyphosate and GMO corn

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, President of Mexico, has ordered a gradual ban on the use of glyphosate-based herbicides and a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified corn. This decision is pioneering in Latin America and beyond.

France: New framework for the use of non-agricultural pesticides

On January 15, 2021, a new order limiting the use of pesticides by local communities was adopted by the government. A modest step towards limiting the use of pesticides.

CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVITIES

Neonicotinoids in courts!

Justice Pesticides has produced, with the financial support of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament, a summary of court cases involving neonicotinoid pesticides in Europe and around the world.

Number of pesticide poisonings in the world revised upwards

A comprehensive study published Dec. 9, 2020, in the peer-reviewed journal BMC Public Health shows that pesticide poisonings on farms around the world have increased dramatically since the last global assessment 30 years ago.

Carey Gillam: The Monsanto Papers

American journalist and Justice Pesticides’ board member Carey Gillam has just released her latest book: The Monsanto Papers – Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption and One Man’s Search for Justice.

Marie-Monique Robin : La fabrique des pandémies

Marie-Monique Robin, French journalist, author of The World according to Monsanto and Roundup facing its judges, and Justice Pesticides’ board member, has just published La fabrique des pandémies.