UPDATE: Comment ’til Sept 3 on Glyphosate MRL increases
Health Canada/ PMRA has granted an extension for commenting on increased maximum residue limits in foods until September 3. The extension is because of “the level of interest and number of comments received to date” and COVID delays. A significantly large number of comments were submitted by July 20, the initial deadline.
The extension and additional background are in this document, which should form the basis for any new comments: Consultation on Glyphosate, Proposed Maximum Residue Limit PMRL2021-10 – Canada.ca.
Please submit comments to: E-mail: hc.pmra.publications-arla.sc@canada.ca Please share with SafeFoodMatters@gmail.com and Info@PreventCancerNow.ca
Here is the initial post and detail on the Proposal. Look for additional communications and what you can say and do about the Proposal, coming soon.
HOW TO TAKE ACTION ON GLYPHOSATE
2 ways:
- To comment by July 20, 2021 on Health Canada’s proposal to increase maximum residue limits: email hc.pmra.publications-arla.sc@canada.ca with comments on PMRL 2021-10. Please cc SafeFoodMatters.org More info here.
- Help fund our legal case against Health Canada over glyphosate through our GoFundMe Link below.
GoFundMe link: http://gf.me/u/y4qsvc
Health Canada Wants to Increase Glyphosate in Food
Have your say by July 20th!
Issue
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is proposing to increase the amount of glyphosate (Roundup®) permitted in Canadian food. Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) may be doubled, tripled or almost quadrupled for oats and bran, lentils, peas and 25 types of beans such as chickpeas, kidney beans and pinto beans, as well as nuts (almonds, pecans and walnuts, mostly coming from the US).
Crop
Current MRL
(ppm)
Proposed MRL
(ppm)
Proposed Increase
Oats and bran
15
35
2.3 fold
Lentils
4
10
2.5 fold
Peas
5
10
2.0 fold
Beans
4
15
3.75 fold
Nuts
0.4 ppm
1
2.5 fold
Why? Farmers are using more glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs). This amounts to regulation of the status quo.
As weeds become resistant, higher herbicide doses affect the environment, contaminate our food and risk our health. This model threatens Organic Agriculture, and does not optimize carbon capture in soil, support biodiversity, nor build resilience to face the climate crisis.
Whose food will be most affected?
Canadian children. Glyphosate in childrens’ cereals (in oats and bran) are already …Read More
Why is Glyphosate Still Allowed In Canada?
Because PMRA says it’s OK
You may have heard that glyphosate probably causes cancer, that it is being banned across the globe, and that Bayer, the maker of Roundup, is considering withdrawing this chemical from the retail market.
Yet Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency in 2017 issued a Re-evaluation Decision that allowed for continued use in Canada of this chemical until at least the 2030s.
Safe Food Matters says it’s not OK
We are Safe Food Matters Inc., and we have been using all legal avenues to object to and challenging this re-registration decision. We are the only Canadian group that directly issued a court challenge to the decision, and we are happy that other groups are now intervening.
Problems with PMRA’s Decision
Here is a presentation we recently issued that shows some flaws in PMRA’s 2017 Decision. This presentation does not speak specifically to issues arising in our Court case, for legal reasons. We …Read More
Who we Are/Contact
Safe Food Matters Inc. is a Canadian non-profit corporation, founded in 2016, dedicated to safe food and a safe environment. We work to improve regulatory policies to better protect human health and the environment.
Our current topics are glyphosate, chlorpyrifos, and GM (genetically modified/edited products). To see our collections on a topic, click on the topic link above, in a post or on the sidebar.
We are going to court over Health Canada’s 2017 re-registration of glyphosate. Please help with legal costs by donating through direct transfer to safefoodmatters@gmail.com or through our GoFundMe link. Every little bit helps! Thanks.
Email: safefoodmatters@gmail.com
Website: safefoodmatters.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/safefoodmatters/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/safefoodmatt
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/safefoodmatters/?hl=en
GoFundMe: gf.me/u/y4qsvc
La salubrité des aliments est importante, mais pas pour Santé Canada?
La salubrité des aliments est importante pour vous et moi, mais est-ce important pour Santé Canada? Nous ne sommes pas convaincus. Pourquoi pas? Nous avons été dans une bataille David contre Goliath avec eux depuis 2017 en ce qui concerne leur approche réglementaire vers la salubrité des aliments,, et avons deux observations de base. Premièrement, à notre avis, Santé Canada n’a pas respecté l’intention ou la lettre de la loi. Deuxièmement, la conduite du régulateur a posé problème.
Cet article fournit des détails sur ces deux points. En ce qui concerne le premier point, il explique comment, dans notre dossier, Santé Canada n’a pas effectué une solide évaluation des risques, n’a pas été transparent et a retardé le dossier de plus d’une décennie.
Sur le deuxième point, cela montre que le régulateur: n’a pas été franc sur le processus, n’a pas fourni les documents pertinents, n’a pas fourni les qualifications des …Read More
Backgrounder to appeal/ document d’information sur l’appel
Le Français suit
Canadian non-profit, founded in 2016, dedicated to protecting health and protecting the environment, with a focus on the safety of food production technologies.
Campaigns have included GM foods and synthetic biology.
Taking Health Canada to the Federal Court of Appeal over its risk assessment of glyphosate.
Who We Are
Context
Glyphosate (Roundup) was registered for use in Canada in 1976 as a weed killer.In the 2000s farmers started to spray it right onto growing crops to kill them. The goal was to “dry-down” or “desiccate” the crops for efficiency purposes: (1) the timing of harvest could be scheduled, and (2) crops wouldn’t be wet so easier to harvest in one pass with big machines. This is “pre-harvest treatment” or “desiccation”.
Problem
When glyphosate is sprayed on crops that are growing, it moves through the roots into the plant’s circulation system and then binds to and moves with the nutrients right into the priority growing …Read More
SAFE FOOD MATTERS, BUT NOT TO HEALTH CANADA ?
BUT NOT TO HEALTH CANADA ?
Safe food matters to you and me, but does it matter to Health Canada? We aren’t convinced. Why not? We have been in a David vs. Goliath battle with them since 2017 regarding their regulatory approach to safe food, and have two basic observations. First, in our view, Health Canada hasn’t followed the intent or the letter of the law. Second, the conduct of the regulator has been problematic.
This article provides detail on these two points. With respect to the first point, it explains how on our file Health Canada did not conduct a strong risk assessment, was not transparent, and delayed the file by more than a decade.
On the second point, it shows that the regulator: was not upfront about the process, did not provide relevant documents, did not provide the qualifications of reviewing scientists, and worked to counter rather than properly consider the …Read More
safe food matters appeals decision
Safe Food Matters Inc. is appealing the Federal Court judgement that allows the decision of Health Canada to renew glyphosate to stand. The appeal was filed on March 13 at the Federal Court of Appeal.
“We think the wrong legal test was applied in the case, and that the decision-making of Health Canada on the file was not reasonable,” said Mary Lou McDonald, President of Safe Food Matters.
The case goes back to 2017, when Health Canada re-registered glyphosate for use in Canada. Eight groups objected and asked for an independent review panel, and in 2019 Health Canada responded with no. SFM then applied in Federal Court for judicial review and asked again for the Minister of Health to consider establishing a review panel. The Federal Court on February 13 dismissed the application.
The appeal process has been initiated, and Safe Food Matters has again retained Andrea Gonsalves of Stockwoods LLP as …Read More
Federal Court releases its decision
Safe Food Matters (SFM) has received notice that the Federal Court will not direct that an independent review panel be struck to review glyphosate.
The Court was of the view that SFM needed to “challenge the science relied on by the PMRA in the Evaluations”. We respectfully disagree, and believe that our job was to raise a scientific doubt about the validity of the evaluations Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) conducted. A “valid evaluation” is one that is complete, transparent, current and free from bias and the appearance of conflict of interest.
We believe we did that, by showing that PMRA did not examine the mechanism in plants that allows higher levels of glyphosate to accumulate in the seeds of legumes and cereals when they are desiccated. As such, the evaluation was not complete, and Health Canada cannot with complete impunity say there is no “unacceptable risk” to human health.
The process has …Read More
