Bans Monsanto

France Bans Monsanto Herbicide Roundup: Should United States Follow Suit?

The Monsanto herbicide Roundup is not a welcome product in France. The European nation moved to halt over-the-counter sales of a weedkiller that remains popular in the United States. As France cracks down on the Monsanto product, some wonder why the U.S. hasn’t done the same.

Although Roundup is said to be the “star” of the Monsanto company, there is a significant health concern tied to the product. The active ingredient in Roundup is a substance known as glyphosate. According to Phys.org, the UN’s International Agency for Research on Cancer declared the ingredient to have cancer-causing properties back in March.

Monsanto has protested the IARC finding; the company accused researchers of omitting “relevant, scientific data” before making its declaration. Despite the cancer link, Roundup remains a very popular product, and glyphosate is reportedly the most mass-produced herbicide on Earth.

A U.S. business, Monsanto has become something of a corporate weed in the eyes of many. In fact, it’s believed by a growing number of concerned members of the public that the dominant business is knowingly selling products that are harmful to humans and the environment. The environment at least seems to be slowly working its way around the toxins allegedly associated with Monsanto products. Human safety is a separate matter.

French Ecology Minister Segolene Royal said that France intends to go “on the offensive” against harmful pesticides like Roundup. The move to ban the Monsanto product came shortly after a request to halt sales by the French consumer association CLCV. There were also plans to make similar products only available to inexperienced gardeners “through an intermediary or a certified vendor”.

France joins Canada, Brazil, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands as nations that have outright banned or limited the sale of glyphosate-based products like Roundup. As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Russia outrighted banned all GMOs, effectively booting Monsanto from the nation.

In the wake of the news, Monsanto is reportedly scrambling to find a new stronghold in Europe and new investments. Despite expressing strong interest in buying Swiss chemical company Syngenta, but shareholders are not interested. It’s believed that a successful purchase will allow Monsanto to set up shop in the United Kingdom.

Despite its best efforts, there doesn’t seem to be anywhere that Monsanto can run that will help it avoid negative public perception. And with Roundup linked to cancer, it seems only a matter of time before the United States takes a closer look at whether or not Roundup belongs on the shelves of American businesses.