Glyphosate Eng Transcript

Man on street: So, this is the consent form, so if you could…

01.10 VO: This week in Brussels, a small crowd gathered in front of the European Parliament to test their urine for traces of the chemical Glyphosate.

Punter: I’ve come here to find out more, is there a health risk, what are the risks for my children, and to send a message to the European Union, the Commission, the farmers and the multinationals that we must find a solution, because it people’s health shouldn’t have to suffer to make up for a lack of innovation in this sector.

01.40 VO: Two years ago, traces of Glyphosate where found in nearly 40% of the population during a survey carried out in the region of Suisse-Romande.

Nowadays, the use of pesticides and chemicals lie at the root of a divisive debate, fuelling anxieties in Switzerland and across Europe.

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02.05 VO: Brussels remains deadlocked on the issue, with no consensus at hand. But time is running out – the EU has until the 15^th of December to find a solution.

02.16 VO: Competing economic factors number in the millions/billions, and that’s without even taking into account issues surrounding public health.

But under mounting pressure, the opposing factions have become bogged down in an increasingly divisive debate.

ITW ANDRIEU Eric Andrieu, eurodéputé français PS avec plan de coupe.

The main source of contention lies in the fact that the findings of the scientific community are divergent. Therefore we are unsure of the potential risks to people’s health present in the use of these chemicals. We then have to be rational, and exercise precaution.

VO: 02.47 The other side of the debate also calls for caution, making the use of the word appear somewhat flexible.  

ITW DELAHAYE Angélique Delahaye, eurodéputée française LR avec plans de coupe.

I too agree that we should exercise caution, by saying that potentially , there could be a risk, so we need to find a solution to move forward. But this shouldn’t come from ridding ourselves of it overnight. The debate has become emotionally charged, and is no longer based in rationality.

03.15 VO Emotional as well as irrational – this opinion Is shared by the producers of pesticides derived from Glyphosate, the biggest amongst them being Monsanto.

The multinationals believe they’re being unfairly targeted, for they believe that the scientific evidence is on their side, proving Glyphosate to be harmless.

This argument was made significantly less credible by the Monsanto Peppers scandal, which broke a few months ago.

It was revealed that the corporation paid scientists, who claimed to be impartial, to sign off on studies used as proof to get glyphosate-based pesticides approved for the market.

03.50 VO Monsanto remains mired with millions of lawsuits filed from all over the world, the latest of which comes from Théo’s family, who live near the city of Lyon.

At first glance, he looks like any other 10-year old boy.

Théo: One chocolate and one sugared please.

VO 04.10 Théo suffers from a serious deformation of the esophagus and the larynx.

At this young age, he has already undergone almost 50 operations, the majority carried out at the Chuv de Lausanne University Hospital.

Pancake salesman: There you go kiddo.

ITW THEO GRATALOUP

Théo: I don’t have any vocal cords, so I can’t raise my voice, and it is deeper and raspier than that of other kids. What bothers me is that other kids have difficulty understanding me.

04.41 VO Théo’s mother Sabine is convinced that the root cause of their ordeal lies ten years in the past.

After being pregnant with Théo for a few weeks, she used the weed-killer Roundup over several days, which contains Glyphosate.

Sabine: A very fierce dog, yes.

Ten years ago they were already aware of the toxicity of their product, and they did everything to hide it. We see it coming out now; the Monsanto Peppers, all the studies being done. We see now that they willingly conspired to hide the dangers of the product so that it could be reintroduced in Europe, in the US, and all over the world, when it shouldn’t have been.

05.25 VO Théo’s family have decided to take action, driven by a specific goal.

Théo: to try and get it banned in France. Even in other countries, so as to avoid more children being born like me, with deformations like mine or any others.

05.45 VO We reached out to Monsanto in relation to Théo’s case, and this was the reply:

VO 2 ‘We sympathise with Théo Grataloup’s condition, but we would like to remind you that our products are certified as safe for human use so long as they are used within the specified guidelines.’

06.04 VO We also asked if accidentally inhaling Glyphosate could lead to a child being born with abnormalities as in Théo’s case. We received no answer.

VO 2 ‘No comment on the following question’

VO The debate over synthetic chemical pesticides is just as inflammatory in Switzerland. Recently, the Christian Democratic Party in Geneva announced that it was working on a number of new laws which would ban all such products from entering the region, whether for public or private use. 

Bertrand Buchs is a doctor and is the head of the Christian Democrats in Geneva. He is convinced of the need to act fast, rather than blindly trusting the multinationals.

ITW BUCHS

The problem with corporations is that when they conduct studies, you must question their objectivity. We know now that with Cigarettes we were told all sorts; that there were no health hazards, that smoking could even help with digestion so you should smoke after every meal. Then there was asbestos, and again this was a great product which had to be used everywhere, and when people began to voice concerns they were ridiculed, but of course in the end they were right.

07.15 VO Bertrand Buchs’ cause ruffled some feathers amongst the Christian Democrats - the agricultural lobby were far from appreciative of  his efforts, and have their grievances known.

Buchs: They told me that I didn’t know what I was talking about, that I was just some psycho on a mission to change the world, and that either way, we weren’t offering any alternatives, and that everything was planned and under control, and that there was nothing to do but carry on as per.

07.40 VO The head of the Geneva Agriculture Union is also active within this agricultural wing of the Christian Democratic Party.

He is frustrated by the laws being devised by the Party, but he denies having gone to far in his rebuttal of Mr. Buchs.

ITW BLONDIN

So what we said to Mr. Buchs was simple, and was easy to explain seeing as he’s a doctor. We simply said that medicine is indispensable, when we are ill we use medicine, and when we’re in good health we don’t. With farming it’s the same, we have need for these fertilisers at very specific times, and without them it’s a real issue for profitability and revenue.

08.13 VO After a few emergency summits, the candidates representing the farming sector withdrew their resignations.

The proposed regulations were in turn rolled back to only affect the use of pesticides by private citizens.

Yet the wider issue remains unsolved, and for rural farming communities, the idea of working without pesticides remains unthinkable.

ITW BLONDIN

Every person needs to understand that agriculture must remain productive and profitable. So permaculture is fantastic, but when it comes to feeding the planet, it remains a distant dream.

Perruchot: So here we have sown some alternative grass seed, there’s some foraged radishes…

08.55 VO Some have already made the leap from distant dream to current reality. This vineyard in Auvernier is part of a movement for A Switzerland Free of Pesticides. They have already collected 30,000 signatures out of the 100,000 required. Here, they’ve been pesticide- free for a decade.

ITW  PERRUCHOT

Farmers like us need might have to re-educate ourselves as to how the soil works, if we should continue to work the soil, if it needs more organic matter, there’s so much – we must relearn – the transition will not be simple.

09.32 VO Whilst Jean Denis’s methods may not lead him to outproduce the competition, but he hasn’t lost the 30%-40% output which he was told he would by his peers.   

Either way, in the case of this vineyard, when discussing costs it is important that all factors are taken into account.

ITW  PERRUCHOT

Conventional farming is far more expensive than we are lead to believe. We don’t take into account all of the factors which really ramp up costs. The environment, restorations, revitalisations, health; all of these are social costs which are never taken into account when discussing the merits of conventional farming. If you simply look at the bottom line when judging the merits of permaculture, it  gives a very superficial analysis.

10.16 VO The Initiative for a Switzerland Free of Pesticides knows that change must come gradually, it’s supporters being aware that they are up against deeply entrenched conventions.

ITW PERRUCHOT

It’s clear that this initiative is ruffling a lot of feathers, that is moving faster than what the Confederation had foreseen regarding their timeline for reducing the presence of pesticides in agriculture, but we predict that it will take about 10 years – which is a decent amount of time for adjustment – including gathering the remaining signatures, the verdict of the federal council, and the parliament, nothing will happen for another 12 years. So 12 years from now, when we know everything that has gone on, and everything we have learnt these last 10 to 15 years, it’s more than long enough.

11.00 VO Whilst the 2017 Pinot vintage seems very promising, the movement for a Switzerland free of pesticides has until May 2018 to deliver. Either way, the debate is far from over.

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