This week, the lower house of the Austrian parliament passed a bill prohibiting any use of glyphosate weed control. Thus, Austria became the first EU country to take such decisive action against a chemical that it could cause cancer.

Other EU countries have partially banned glyphosate, developed by Bayer, a company owned by Monsanto, although France has reduced its ambition for the ban, emphasizing its usefulness in agriculture.

“Scientific evidence of carcinogenic effects of plant poison is growing. We must ban this poison for the environment, ”said Pamela Randy-Wagner, leader of the Austrian Social Democrats.

It should be noted that in Austria, organic agriculture is more developed than in other EU countries, it is about 23%, while in the EU - 7%.

The right-wing Freedom Party and the liberal Neos party also supported the bill. If the small upper house does not mind, it seems likely that the bill will become law after it is signed by President Alexander van der Bellen, a former leader of the greens who have no seats in parliament.

Glyphosate was developed by Monsanto under the Roundup brand. It is currently patented and sold worldwide by dozens of other chemical groups, including Dow Agrosciences and German BASF.

Concerns about its safety arose when, in 2015, a World Health Organization agency concluded that it was likely to cause cancer.

However, the Austrian Ministry of Sustainability, which is responsible for agriculture and the environment, said it believed that the ban would be contrary to EU law, since glyphosate was allowed for use in the European Union until December 2022.