In Tuscany from 31 December 2021 the use of glyphosate will be prohibited. This was decided by the Regional Council, receiving the applause of Federbio, the Italian organization of companies in the sector. The herbicide widely used in agriculture, under accusation for cancer but also at the center of fierce scientific debates and a recent controversial ruling by the European Court of Justice, has been outlawed throughout the Region.
With the provision just adopted, Tuscany wanted to strengthen the support initiatives in the environmental field. Actions that have already made it gain good positions in the rankings of the territories that have switched to organic. There are hundreds of companies that in recent years have structured their productions in a sustainable way without losing market share. A battle that can also be fought and won in the other Regions, provided that government decisions arrive.
"The hope is that Tuscany's decision, which anticipates the Community indications on the legitimacy of the use of the pesticide, will soon be extended to a national level", comments Maria Grazia Mammuccini, president of the Federation of organic companies. The goal is to have "glyphosate free" Regions, like Tuscany, precisely, with bans, limitations and protections on the one hand, and agreements with the productive world on the other. Europe has generally banned its use since 2022.
The global debate on the use of glyphosate has been going on since IARC, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization, included this substance among those probably carcinogenic. Since then environmentalists and organic producers have been fighting in all venues to ban the use and not only of some brands, but of all pesticides harmful to health and the environment. The news arriving from Florence goes, however, in the opposite direction to the judgment of the European Court which established that the product, however, can be used.
In the coming months, a new "penalty" intervention in the Tuscan rural development plan of around 15 million euros is expected. We want to go from the current 25% of agricultural land converted to organic farming to 30%. FederBio and the environmentalist world hope that these strategic settings, let's say also with good political connotations, will be an example for the National Action Plan on the sustainable use of plant protection products. "The transition to agroecology is essential for environmental protection, for combating climate change but also for increasing the distinctiveness of our agricultural productions" adds Maria Grazia Mammuccini, President of FederBio. A message to the government and Parliament to shorten the time for a reform that Minister Bellanova has also announced.
The Tuscan decision is not enough to curb the controversies and scientific disputes on the marketing of the product. Harmful or not, controversial rulings and decisions aside, glyphosate is estimated to have an annual $5 billion bill. Manufacturers defend their business unscrupulously and contesting the IARC studies with opinions also from EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority. “All traces of the product were found to be present without safety concerns and all other regulators worldwide have said that glyphosate is safe when used correctly,” explained Bernhard Url, executive director of the European agency.
Those who use it do not spend much and the giants that have been producing it since 74 do business all over the world. As far as Italy is concerned, plant protection products containing the substance are not outlawed. Only certain methods of use are prescribed in agricultural areas, buffer and recreational areas, schools, hospitals, to protect those who work and attend them. Limits we can argue that are not enough to reassure an entire country afflicted by so many other risk factors to health and the environment.
