2020- 2022 Policy Process | Green Party of Canada
Where GPC membership collaborates to develop our policies
G21-P004 Move Away From Pesticides and Biocides | VGM-2 Amended Version
Submitter Name
Mary Lou McDonald
Ratification Vote Results: Adopted
Proposal
This is the amended proposal adopted by GPC membership at the VGM-2.
GPC supports a transition away from or the elimination of the use of glyphosate (e.g. Roundup) and other harmful pesticides and biocides in farming, forestry, recreational and other sites, and the promotion of the use of least toxic and most regenerative measures in these areas.
Objective
The proposal seeks to eliminate the presence of harmful pesticides in our world and promote the use of alternative, least harmful measures to reduce pests.
Benefit
Pesticides harm the health of humans and of soil, forests, aquatic and other ecosystems, and run counter to climate change solutions. By seeking to remove these harms, the proposal will improve the health of humans, these systems and the planet.
Supporting Comments from Submitter
The proposal can be expected to be effective by removing or lessening the harms associated with pesticide use. Some of the harms documented on glyphosate include harms to human health, the soil, forests and wildlife, and water ecosystems described below.
1. Human health. Glyphosate harms the barrier that is the lining for the gut and the brain, causing chronic inflammation, injury to the functioning systems of the body and neurological problems.
Zach Bush,"Glyphosate: A Root Cause of Chronic Inflammation?" Holistic Primary Care, March 25, 2016.
https://holisticprimarycare.net/topics/environomics/glyphosate-a-root-cause-of-chronic-inflammation/
2. Soil. Glyphosate strips nutrients from soil and plants and imbeds itself in crops. Healthy soil created through organic (no pesticides) regenerative farming sequesters carbon and is considered a solution to climate change.
Ty Bollinger,"Understanding the Dangers of Glyphosate (& How to Minimize Exposure)", The Truth About Cancer, May 14, 2018.
https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/glyphosate-dangers/
Rodale Institue, "Regenerative Organic Agriculture and the Soil Carbon" , September 30, 2020.
3. Forests. Glyphosate is sprayed by forest companies to kill broadleaf trees and keep evergreens for cutting. This harms the resilience of the forest ecosystem and increases forest fires. It also reduces food and habitat for wildlife, is toxic to amphibians and aquatic systems, and promotes the persistence of glyphosate in the environment.
Stop the Spray B.C.
4. Water ecosystems. Glyphosate increases phosphorous loading in watersheds, causing algae blooms and other harms.
Marie-Pier Hébert, Vincent Fugère, and Andrew Gonzalez "The overlooked impact of rising glyphosate use on phosphorus loading in agricultural watersheds" Front Ecol Environ 2019; 17(1): 48–56.
Green Value(s)
Ecological Wisdom, Sustainability
Relation to Existing Policy
This proposal would rescind and replace G06-p15 Banning Cosmetic Pesticides Environment, and expand on G14-P57.
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