Austrian parliament bans glyphosate weed killer

Austria is on track to be the first EU country to completely ban weed killer glyphosate, originally developed by Monsanto and marketed under the name Roundup.

Members of Parliament in Austria’s lower house of parliament voted to ban all uses of controversial herbicide glyphosate, as the substance faces a slew of lawsuits in the US for potentially causing cancer.

Glyphosate was originally developed by chemical giant Monsanto, a US company that became a subsidiary of Germany’s Bayer last year.

The herbicide first appeared on the market under the name of Roundup in 1974. The patent for it has since expired and various companies now produce glyphosate-based weed killers under different names.

Many experts warn that the substance has negative effects for human health. In 2015, the cancer research agency of the World Health Organization (WHO) found that glyphosate was “probably carcinogenic.”

The company has maintained that glyphosate is not carcinogenic.

Unless Austria’s upper house chooses to object the glyphosate ban, the bill will be signed into law by the country’s president, Alexander Van der Bellen. This would make Austria the first EU country to take such a drastic step against the herbicide.

Via WSJ