Germany has decided it will ban glyphosate by the end of 2023, following in the footsteps of a decision by Austria this summer. The German Environment Ministry said it took the action to protect insects, including pollinators. “What harms insects also harms people,” Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said. “What we need is more humming and buzzing." The German Farmers' Association criticized the decision, with the group’s president calling it “toxic for the farmers," in part because it would weaken their competitiveness. Bayer, which uses the active ingredient in its Roundup herbicide, said that while it respects political decisions by some of the countries in the European Union “to reduce applications of glyphosate,” the German decision “to impose a unilateral ban … would ignore the overwhelming scientific assessments of competent authorities around the world that have determined for more than 40 years that glyphosate can be used safely.” The European Union's approval of glyphosate expires near the end of 2022.
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