Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal at the Tullamore Farm open day, Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly said that to ignore the advice of one expert group on the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, glyphosate, is bad, but to ignore the advice of two expert groups just doesn’t make sense.

“What have you got European agencies for to advise you if you’re going to ignore them and just give in to people who are probably in some respects maybe not totally committed to agriculture?

“They might even be anti-agriculture. Especially when there’s no alternative and there’s no conclusive proof that there’s anything wrong with glyphosate.”

An asset to farming

The Ireland South MEP said that when used properly, it has been a great asset to farming over the years.

“There is no replacement [for it] and it makes no sense to go banning it at this stage.

“One of the big problems I see in Europe, is investors and businesses telling us they want legal certainty.

“When something is deemed safe you can’t be giving in to protest groups who say it isn’t. So you have to go with the expert advice available to you from within your own area and that’s available to the EU.

“It makes no sense in the world to go banning glyphosate now, to just give in to populist movements which often do not have the support of the public, other than making a lot of noise.”

Read more

Fresh petition targets Roundup in crops as glyphosate talks set to resume

Farmer Writes: life after MCPA