(File photo by Dave Bedard)

EU countries fail to agree on extending glyphosate approval

Current approval expires Dec. 15

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — European Union governments failed on Friday to give a decisive opinion on a proposal to extend by 10 years EU approval for the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup herbicide. A “qualified majority” of 15 countries representing at least 65 per cent of the bloc’s population had been […] Read more

EU flags in front of the headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. (Jorisvo/iStock/Getty Images)

EU plans to halve pesticide use, expand organic farming

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Commission said on Wednesday it planned to increase organic farming and cut agricultural chemical use to protect the environment, proposals welcomed by green groups but which farmers said would make them less flexible. Agriculture is a contributor to climate change – producing around 10 per cent of EU greenhouse […] Read more