Jersey will continue to follow UK and EU guidance on the use of glyphosate, despite new research suggesting the widely used and controversial weedkiller may cause multiple forms of cancer – even at doses previously considered safe.
Deputy Hilary Jeune asked Environment Minister Steve Luce whether he would review the use of glyphosate after the Global Glyphosate Study by the Ramazzini Institute linked the chemical to several types of cancer.
Food authority said “no evidence” of harmful effects
But the Minister said there were no current plans to change Jersey’s position, noting that the European Commission renewed glyphosate’s approval for another 10 years in November 2023 after “comprehensive and rigorous scientific risk assessments”.
He said the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had published peer-reviewed conclusions in July 2023, finding “no evidence that glyphosate poses harmful effects to human or animal health, nor any unacceptable risks to the environment”.
Although the UK now has its own pesticide approval process following Brexit, the Minister said it had aligned with the EU’s 2023 decision and continued to authorise glyphosate-based products.
He added that the “current reassessment of glyphosate is ongoing, and while its approval is set to expire on 15 December 2026, renewal is widely anticipated”.
Jersey lacks “in-house expertise” for toxicology tests
Deputy Luce added that Jersey “lacks the in-house expertise and infrastructure to independently assess the toxicology and epidemiology of pesticides” and therefore relies on the EU and UK regulatory frameworks.
However, the Minister said approvals “are not permanent” and could be amended or revoked “if new scientific evidence emerges that challenges previous safety conclusions”.
He confirmed that if the Ramazzini Institute’s findings were submitted to regulatory authorities, they would be reviewed and considered at EU, UK and, ultimately, Jersey level.
Numerous bids to ban
There have been numerous attempt to ban or curb the use of glyphosate, which is found in popular pesticide Roundup and is already banned in several countries, across the Channel Islands in recent years.
As well as fears over its potential carcinogenic status, other critics say that it has adverse effects on dogs walking in areas in which it is used, and can contribute to water pollution. Such concerns recently led France – Europe’s biggest food producer – to pledge to phase out glyphosate completely by 2022.
Back in 2017, the Jersey Organic Association (JOA) petitioned the Environment Minister – which was also then Deputy Steve Luce – to bring forward legislation to ban the sale, importation and use of the products within the island.
But his department dismissed a potential ban as “unreasonable and unjustified”.
The department responsible for public works in Guernsey stopped using glyphosate in 2019 after a vote in the Island’s States Assembly. However, as recently as 2023, Guernsey’s politicians stopped short of banning its use by others in the island.
That drive was largely spearheaded by Deputy David De Lisle, who got into hot water when he arranged for a video to be posted on his Facebook page linking weedkiller and chemical farming with autism.