Forest Spraying 1: Based on Faulty Approval
Pesticides are being sprayed on Canadian forests, killing the diversity of forest life. The resulting harms are plant and animal death, destruction of forest foods, and accelerating forest fires.
How is this allowed?
The registration approval for this use of pesticides comes from the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Health Canada, the agency responsible for “managing pests”. The licenses to spray are then granted by the provinces. (Quebec has banned forestry spraying since 2001.)
PMRA says that unwanted trees and brush are “pests”. Pests are defined in the “Pest Control” law to include “a plant… that is injurious, noxious or troublesome”.
So trees are a troublesome pest? The forest industry and PMRA think they are. The aim of industry is to “harvest” one type of tree “crop”, usually evergreens (conifers), and get rid of the leafy trees (broadleaf) that get in the way – the pests.
The PMRA Glyphosate Approval
Glyphosate …Read More
EU Renews Glyphosate – Kind of
The European Commission has officially renewed the registration of glyphosate at the European level. But it’s left much of the actual decision making to individual member states.
Desiccation is outlawed, and use within 60 days of harvest is not allowed on agricultural crops. (Safe Food Matters has been in court with Health Canada over this issue for years.)
Risks and assessments left to individual states include:
the coformulants (other ingredients) contained in GLY products
exposure of consumers from foods grown in fields where GLY was sprayed the year prior
protection of groundwater and surface water
risks to small animals
indirect effects on biodiversity
application by people who aren’t professionals
use in public areas
In some cases, the Commission said it wasn’t sure of the risks. It didn’t have good data on small animals, or methods to determine indirect effects on biodiversity, for example.
But it went ahead and approved the pesticide anyways. Various organizations …Read More
Europe to Ban Pre-Harvest Glyphosate on Crops – so should Canada
On November 16, 2023 the European Commission announced it is set to renew glyphosate in Europe for another 10 years, but will ban desiccation – where spraying occurs to kill the crop for easier harvest. Spraying before harvest to kill weeds will also not be allowed for 60 days prior to harvest on farmed crops (1).
Kids, Candy, and Scary Stuff
Some of the fun things about Hallowe’en are the kids, the costumes, and the candy. We have some scary news about the candy.
Health Canada wants to up the levels of pesticides allowed in sugar. Big time. It has proposed to increase allowable levels of two pesticides used on sugar beets – by 200 fold and 10 fold:
Azoxystrobin (AZ) – from 0.5 to 5 ppm (10x)
Fludioxonil (FL) – from 0.02 to 4 ppm (200x)
Why? So Canada’s levels will match the US levels.
You may recall in 2021 there was a “pause” put on maximum residue limits (MRLs) because of proposed glyphosate (Roundup) increases. In June, 2023 Health Canada lifted the “pause”, and these two chemicals, combined in a Syngenta product, are the first up. Syngenta made the request.
The problem isn’t just the increases. It’s the lack of scientific backup. The scientific methodology is completely flawed, as stated in the assessment, …Read More
“Highly Uncertain” Science Used for Pesticide Limits
Pesticide limits for sugar beet roots – the first up for MRL increases after the “pause” – are based on uncertain science
Confidential test data reveals there is “High uncertainty of [the] MRL estimate” for two increases of pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs) on sugar beet roots (used for sugar products), which were requested by Syngenta and proposed by Health Canada. The proposed MRLs, which are 200 times and 10 times higher than current levels, were calculated using the OECD Calculator. The output page of the calculator flags in red that there is high uncertainty because small data sets were used.
Health Canada does not mention these uncertainties in its proposals for the two pesticides, PMRL 2023-34 for Fludioxonil (FL) and PMRL 2023-38 for Azoxystrobin (AZ). The proposed increases are from 0.02 to 4.0 ppm for FL, and from 0.5 to 5.0 ppm for AZ.
Notably these are two of the very first …Read More
Preliminary Hearing on Oct 24 2023 over Glyphosate Product Renewal
On October 24, 2023, Safe Food Matters is n Federal Court with other groups in the first step of its “product renewal case” over a glyphosate product. We are seeking documents to show what science, if any, PMRA looked at in its renewal.
Update 2 on Increasing MRLs: Comments due Sept 8 2023 and MRL Issues Summary
Health Canada has extended the comment period for proposed regulations on MRLs until September 8, 2023. On June 20, 2023 it announced it was seeking comments on its Notice of Intent NOI2023-01 for new regulations on pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs).
The new MRL regulations require publication of a notice when there is a proposed increase. That is all. No substantive changes are being made to the MRL process.
The comment period for the NOI was extended from August 19 until September 8, 2023.
See our previous post on the NOI and suggestions for comments.
Below is an executive summary/ explanation of the MRL issues.
Context: Government Paused and is Now Increasing MRLs
– In Summer 2021, the government paused a proposal from Bayer/ Monsanto to increase the MRLs for glyphosate/Roundup allowed on lentils and beans/peas by 3 and 4 fold.
– The pause was because there was huge public outcry and it was election time.
– Health Canada is head …Read More
Update: PMRA Transformation Agenda, Increasing MRLs and Action
“Tractor Fertilize Field Pesticide And Insecticide” by aqua.mech is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Update: PMRA Transformation Agenda, Increasing MRLs and Action
Resignations, Increasing MRLs, and Weak Proposals
Remember two years ago? It was election time. Health Canada proposed higher levels of Roundup in food at the request of Bayer/Monsanto, the public screamed foul-play, and the government paused the proposal.
A “transformation agenda” was kicked off to fix the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a new team was brought in, and a Science Advisory Committee was established to provide advice to PMRA.
So here we are, two years later, $42 million later, thousands of hours of consulting on the “transformation agenda” later… and what’s the update?
The Chair of the Science Advisory Committee has resigned, citing an “obsolete regulatory system that protects the pest industry more than it protects Canadians”.
PMRA is going ahead with increases of pesticides allowed in foods – the “pause” was lifted on June …Read More
Safe Food Matters Goes Back to Court June 13 with Health Canada on Glyphosate
On June 13, 2023, Safe Food Matters returns to federal court in its ongoing battle with Health Canada over glyphosate, Canada’s most widely used herbicide.
This is the first step in our second lawsuit against Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) for re-registering this harmful pesticide. We are seeking documents to show what’s really going on behind closed doors at the PMRA.
Why? Because something’s not right. In February, 2022, the Federal Court of Appeal ordered the PMRA to review our “Notice of Objection” for a second time – and the Court even provided “Guidance” to PMRA on how to address the issues. But PMRA did not follow the Guidance.
More than that, PMRA bent over backward to not address the concerns we raised. PMRA rewrote history. PMRA made up totally new legal tests. PMRA defied the rules of procedural fairness. It is clear PMRA does not want a review panel, even though the law allows for it.
So what’s going on?
We Are Making A Difference on Pesticides
We are Safe Food Matters Inc., and we’re making a difference on pesticides. Our highlights from 2022 include: winning on glyphosate in Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal; obtaining Monsanto confidential test data on glyphosate MRLs; becoming a charity; and suing Health Canada for rejecting public participation in pesticide decision-making.
We hope you’ll consider making a charitable donation to us, because we ARE making a difference. You can donate here.
Federal Court of Appeal: Glyphosate
In February, 2022, we won our case on glyphosate in Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal. The Court ordered Health Canada’s PMRA to look at our objections to the 2017 registration of glyphosate for a second time.
We think our win was a big deal, because the Court set out “Guidance” on how regulators like the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) need to behave when dealing with members of the public who get involved. When making decisions, PMRA needs to show …Read More
