- Glyphosate allows farmers to control weeds without needing to plough or till the soil. Reducing tillage maintains soil nutrients, improves water use efficiency and is better for the environment. Healthier soils mean higher yielding crops.
- Weeds are the single most important reason for crop losses globally threatening food security. Every year weeds cost Australian growers $3.2 billion.
- Glyphosate is a chemical compound that controls weeds and has been registered for use in Australia for 40 years.
- It was on patent to Monsanto from 1974 to the early 90s in Australia but is now off-patent and sold by other manufacturers.
- There are more than 500 products in the Australian market that contain glyphosate. The most recognisable product is RoundUp.
- More than 800 scientific studies and reviews, including numerous independent regulatory safety assessments provide overwhelmingly clear evidence that glyphosate use is safe.
- Australia’s national regulator is the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). The APVMA is globally recognised as a world class, evidence-based regulator.
- APVMA undertook a detailed assessment of the human health risks associated with glyphosate use in 2016. The APVMA found no grounds for approved uses to be reconsidered.
- Every pesticide that is approved for use in Australia is subject to the rigorous approval process of the APVMA. This means, if glyphosate is an active ingredient in any new product it will be subject to the APVMA registration process. This involves years of data collection and stringent assessment before approvals may be granted.
- APVMA-approved label directions for agricultural chemical products that contain glyphosate must comply with all regulatory requirements. This includes statements to alert uses of potential hazards to human safety, environmental precautions and information on the best management practices to be employed during use.
- Every science-based regulator around the world has approved glyphosate as safe for human, animal and environmental health when used according to label instructions.
- The APVMA and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) use internationally recognised, science-based guidelines to govern crop Maximum Residue Limits to ensure the safety of consumers. This means the food humans or animals eat is safe to consume.
Australian Growers' response to glyphosate usage
“If [glyphosate] was no longer available, we would probably stop farming.”
“Glyphosate is the most important chemical we have available to us. If we had it removed as an option, we would have to go back to using cultivation to prepare for sowing. This would lead to erosion and not being able to use moisture effectively, therefore getting maximum water use efficiency. ”
“Glyphosate is the number one pesticide tool we have available. Without it, we would lose ability to control certain weeds, we would lose yield due to various reasons, not only from weed competition but also potentially timeliness of sowing. The lack of viable alternatives would threaten many of our farming systems.”
“Glyphosate is an extremely valuable tool. It has few direct replacements so if not available would be a huge loss to the grains industry.”
