Keep Food Safe from Glyphosate Act Would Overturn Trump Administration’s Decision to Ignore Glyphosate Residues
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media contact: Stefanie Spear, sspear@asyousow.org, 216-387-1609
Oakland, CA—March 18, 2019—U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro introduced Friday the Keep Food Safe from Glyphosate Act. The bill aims to protect consumers from the health effects of exposure to glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides very commonly used in modern agriculture and landscaping. Glyphosate has been showing up in unexpected places, including breakfast foods (often marketed to children and/or marketed as healthy) and wine and beer; and scientists continue to present new evidence of glyphosate’s potential to cause cancer.
Major food companies argue that glyphosate residues are below levels deemed safe by the federal government. This bill would change that. One of the major provisions of the Keep Food Safe from Glyphosate Act is a requirement that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency return the permissible level of glyphosate residue on oats to its original level of 0.1 parts per million (down from the current 30 ppm level established in 2008 following pressure from agrochemical producers). The bill also includes a ban on the use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest drying agent on oats, which would directly impact growers and the food manufacturers who rely on their crops.
Christy Spees, environmental health program manager, had this to say about the bill:
“It is clearly time for food companies to address the risks of glyphosate use — on oats and in all agricultural supply chains. As investor advocates, we want to see companies advance beyond federal regulations to respond to consumer concerns and protect public health. Right now they risk falling behind.”
For more information on As You Sow’s work on pesticides, click here.
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