Several ministers within the Luxembourg government yesterday commended the initiative taken by certain shopping areas within the country to withdraw the pesticide glyphosate from their shelves.
The ministers, such as the Ministre de l'Environnement Carole Dieschbourg; the Ministre de l'Agriculture, de la Viticulture et de la Protection des Consammateurs, Fernand Etgen; and Ministre de la Santé Lydia Mutsch applauded the voluntary action, citing it as a welcome support of the government's endeavours to reduce the use of insecticides through the awareness campaign 'Ouni Pestiziden' ('Without Pesticides').
The commendation follows the decision made by Luxembourgish shopping chains such as Cactus to remove products containing glyphosate from their gardening range, and focus on offering more organic choices instead.
The glyphosate herbicide represents the most commonly used product of its kind in the world, and was recently classed as dangerous and a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In addition, Glyphosate, also known as Roundup©, has been linked to declining bee populations and the contamination of water supplies.
The government initiative against these pesticides forms part of the coalition agreement, and the Act of 19 December 2014 will reinforce this policy, by decreeing that the use of phytopharmaceutical products will be banned in public places from 2016.
