Swiss parliament rejects glyphosate ban petition

While some European Union governments, led by France and Italy, have proposed new restrictions on the sale and use of glyphosate by farmers, municipalities and others who need to control weeds, the Swiss Parliament has just outright rejected a petition to ban glyphosate.

In a decision recently published on its website, the Swiss Parliament's Committee on Science, Education and Culture rejected the petition, arguing that "According to current evidence there are no scientific reasons to justify a ban on the use of glyphosate in general, or in agriculture in particular."

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the world's most widely used herbicides, including Monsanto's Roundup brand weed killer.

In June, Roundup welcomed the EU glyphosate approval until October 2017.