Ministry of Health and Welfare announces suspension of adding glyphosate pesticide residue tolerance levels, gaining public support
By Chen Ju-wei
Every small action can become a crucial key to transforming society
On August 2, 2019, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the suspension of adding broader glyphosate pesticide residue tolerance levels. The regulatory amendment that had caused nearly a hundred days of turmoil was temporarily brought to a close, and this victory is entirely attributed to the joint efforts of people across Taiwan concerned about agriculture and food safety.
Glyphosate, developed by the American company Monsanto and on the market for over forty years, remains the world's most popular and most heavily used herbicide. In March 2015, after the International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization classified it as a Group 2A substance "possibly carcinogenic to humans," the long-standing debate over glyphosate's negative effects on human health gradually came to the surface, with academic studies successively pointing out that glyphosate is genotoxic and that even at extremely low concentrations, long-term human exposure can affect health.
After German company Bayer successfully acquired Monsanto in June 2018, it immediately faced over a thousand glyphosate cancer lawsuits, bringing the glyphosate controversy to a peak. Within just one year, Bayer suffered three consecutive defeats in California, USA, not only with total damages awarded reaching as high as 200 million US dollars, but also with its stock price falling by nearly 40 percent. The evidence revealed in the three lawsuits all showed that Monsanto had not only long attempted to obstruct scientific investigation, but was also suspected of concealing evidence and distorting report conclusions.
At such a critical moment, the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare surprisingly stated it would add glyphosate residue tolerance levels, which is truly puzzling. Although implementation was suspended this time under pressure of opposition from civic groups and the general public, it is hard to guarantee there will be no future disputes. How to establish a civic participation mechanism and include cross-disciplinary stakeholders in joint discussion is the fundamental way for the responsible authorities and consumers to move forward together sustainably.
The review of genetically modified foods, which is closely related to the herbicide glyphosate, also faces the same dilemma of civic participation.
The evaluation and review of GM foods has its professional aspects. Recently, the Ministry of Health and Welfare invited experts and scholars to form a "Genetically Modified Food Review Panel," which decides whether to approve imports through regularly convened review meetings. However, given the highly controversial nature of GM technology and the general public's widespread concern about the risks of GM foods, such a mechanism completely blocks any room for consumers to voice their opinions. Although the Food and Drug Administration responded in June 2017 to the long-standing demands of civil society groups by publishing for the first time a "List of Pending Cases for Genetically Modified Food Raw Material Review," which can be seen as a major step forward for consumers' right to know about their food, the general public can only learn through periodic announcements that GM food raw materials such as potatoes, papayas, sugarcane, soybeans, corn and cotton are currently applying for entry, and still has no say in whether they will be approved, only being able to passively accept it.
Starting from the initiative we launched in October 2014 for "GM food out of school lunches," we facilitated the Legislative Yuan's amendment of the School Health Act to explicitly prohibit the use of genetically modified ingredients in school lunches, participated in demands for the Food and Drug Administration to revise the GM food labeling system and publish the GM food review list, established a Taiwan-Japan-Korea civil society alliance against GM foods, and even joined hands with the general public this time to block the bill adding glyphosate food residue tolerance levels. Each achievement may be very small, but step by step forward, we will always see the brilliant light ahead.
We believe that as long as we are willing to act, change will ultimately come.
"Ministry of Health and Welfare adding broader glyphosate pesticide residue tolerance levels" timeline
April 23, 2019
The Ministry of Health and Welfare gave notice of amending the "Pesticide Residue Tolerance Levels," among which glyphosate residue tolerance levels were added for ten miscellaneous grain crops including oats, buckwheat and barley, proposed to be adjusted from not detectable to 10 ppm.
April 25, 2019
NewsMarket at upstream and downstream was the first to publish the exclusive report "Taiwan plans to greatly relax herbicide glyphosate residue levels! Imported wheat, oats and 10 other miscellaneous grains, maximum tolerance 10 ppm."
May 9, 2019
The Taiwan Non-GMO Promotion Alliance and campus lunch anti-GMO action and other civil society groups launched the action "I firmly oppose the FDA adding glyphosate residue tolerance levels"
May 15, 2019
The Taiwan Non-GMO Promotion Alliance, campus lunch anti-GMO action and other civil society groups held a press conference "Food safety cannot be compromised: firmly oppose adding glyphosate residue tolerance levels"
June 1, 2019
The Avaaz platform launched the petition "Are you willing to eat grains with glyphosate residue?"
June 24, 2019
The sixty-day notice period ended
July 30, 2019
The campus lunch anti-GMO action team wrote in a personal capacity to the Minister of Health and Welfare's mailbox, asking about the follow-up handling procedure.
August 2, 2019 (in order of events that day)
The Public Policy Network Participation Platform sent a letter stating "the responsible authority has a latest response (announcement date is August 2)"
The Ministry of Health and Welfare issued the announcement "Amending the Pesticide Residue Tolerance Levels, strengthening management of pesticide residues in food."
NewsMarket at upstream and downstream published the report "No relaxation! FDA suspends adding glyphosate standards, civic groups affirm, hope for civic participation in the future"
The Minister of Health and Welfare's mailbox had not yet formally replied