US urges Thailand to reconsider proposed ban on weed-control chemical

[rooster59]

US urges Thailand to reconsider proposed ban on weed-control chemical

By The Nation

 

 

The US has urged Thailand to take scientific evidence into account and weigh the consequences of a ban on the use of glyphosate, a weed-control chemical.

 

Replying to questions from The Nation on Thailand’s plan to ban three farm chemicals -- paraquat, chlorpyrifos and glyphosate -- US Embassy spokesperson Jillian Bonnardeaux said: “We are aware that letters from the US Department of Agriculture to Royal Thai Government officials are currently circulating in the media in Thailand,” clarifying about news reports that the US government had sent letters to the Thai government urging a review of the ban on glyphosate used to control weeds.

 

 

“The United States would expect Thailand, as it would all of our trading partners, to base regulatory measures on scientific evidence and take into account international standards. Should the ban be implemented in Thailand, it will severely impact Thailand’s imports of agricultural commodities such as soybeans and wheat. The ban would negatively impact both Thai farmers and trading partners,” she noted.

 

She cited the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) in 2016 had reaffirmed that dietary exposure to glyphosate does not pose a risk to consumers. The Codex Alimentarius Commission subsequently reaffirmed all existing glyphosate maximum residue limits (MRLs). US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December 2017 released its draft human health risk assessment, concluding glyphosate poses no meaningful risk to human health when used as authorised. The EPA’s findings are consistent with scientific reviews conducted by others including Japan, the European Union, Australia, and the FAO/WHO JMPR, she said.

 

“Glyphosate bans will not improve food safety, or the safety and sustainability of agricultural practices. Without glyphosate, farmers and communities will have a harder time managing weeds in a sustainable and efficient manner, leading to higher energy use and higher production costs for smaller harvests,” she added.

 

Thailand’s National Committee on Hazardous Substances had voted on October 22 to ban the three toxic farm chemicals effective on December 1.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30377747

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-10-26

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[Chang_paarp]

Monsanto/Bayer are trying a rearguard lobbying effort to change a ruling made early in the month. If they were serious about the scientific evidence they cite, where was it in the lead up to the decision? It is not as if this has come as a bolt from the blue. They had better spend some energy on the larger markets that are in the process of banning foodstuff with these chemicals in the supply chain. 

[farmerjo]

I don't want to be rude but the NCHS was not an expert panel to decide.

America is offering their expert opinion on advanced agriculture.  

[Lungstib]

Early in my stay here, maybe back in late 1980's, the US fought Thailand using the WTO to make them accept the importation of its cigarettes. It was only many years later the real truth about deaths attributed to tobacco became known. US 'expert opinion' is not always the truth, just a convenient sales pitch.  

[robblok]

1 hour ago, farmerjo said:

I don't want to be rude but the NCHS was not an expert panel to decide.

America is offering their expert opinion on advanced agriculture.  

???? You mean shows their clear support of Monsanto ? Bayer. I mean Europe is light years ahead in all matters of safety the US just thinks of money. I prefer experts of a region that does think of safety not experts from a country that in recent times thinks more of money then people (Boeing anyone).

[sweatalot]

money over life and health

those responsible should be forced to bathe ion their poison

[IsaanAussie]

8 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The United States would expect Thailand, as it would all of our trading partners, to base regulatory measures on scientific evidence and take into account international standards. Should the ban be implemented in Thailand, it will severely impact Thailand’s imports of agricultural commodities such as soybeans and wheat. The ban would negatively impact both Thai farmers and trading partners,” she noted.

Expect??? Dictate to more like. I find the "polite" bullying tactics of the USA to be grossly offensive. Effect imports? Obviously meaning their own, but how would domestic herbicide regulation impact US soybean imports? They either have a product that Thailand wants or they don't. You know, free trade, competition and all that stuff! Then the threat? Negatively impact Thai farmers .... Reducing imports effects local farmers opportunities? 

We use Roundup currently and will have to find an effective and cost effective alternative. But the ban is an internal issue for Thailand. 

[robblok]

31 minutes ago, Lungstib said:

Early in my stay here, maybe back in late 1980's, the US fought Thailand using the WTO to make them accept the importation of its cigarettes. It was only many years later the real truth about deaths attributed to tobacco became known. US 'expert opinion' is not always the truth, just a convenient sales pitch.  

Not to mention the push the US did on the Netherlands about weed. The US is certainly not a country that does things for the greater good. They usually got economic idea's behind it and in recent years the mistrust has only become greater. 

[bluesofa]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

The United States would expect Thailand, as it would all of our trading partners, to base regulatory measures on scientific evidence and take into account international standards.

International standards?

Aren't those three chemical banned in (IIRC) over 32 countries as being dangerous?

[Prairieboy]

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

US urges Thailand to reconsider proposed ban on weed-control chemical

The headline should be rewritten to say After intense lobbying by multinational chemical companies the US urges Thailand.....

 

[robblok]

9 minutes ago, IsaanAussie said:

Expect??? Dictate to more like. I find the "polite" bullying tactics of the USA to be grossly offensive. Effect imports? Obviously meaning their own, but how would domestic herbicide regulation impact US soybean imports? They either have a product that Thailand wants or they don't. You know, free trade, competition and all that stuff! Then the threat? Negatively impact Thai farmers .... Reducing imports effects local farmers opportunities? 

We use Roundup currently and will have to find an effective and cost effective alternative. But the ban is an internal issue for Thailand. 

Yes its an Thai thing, I also don't get the US interference unless it is to help chemical companies. I understand it if they start adding poisons not when they start to use less.

[justin case]

these lies :   GMO will feed to world is a true as vaccines save lifes

[justin case]

2 hours ago, farmerjo said:

I don't want to be rude but the NCHS was not an expert panel to decide.

America is offering their expert opinion on advanced agriculture.  

hahaha, you believe in santaclaus also ?

 

big chemical is lobbying to make / force people buy their dangerous chemicals

 

nothing new

 

[Assurancetourix]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

She cited the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) in 2016 had reaffirmed that dietary exposure to glyphosate does not pose a risk to consumers.

Maybe, maybe not ;

 

By cons the user, the farmer is sure to catch a cancer of something in a very short time;
Besides, where are the thousands of lawsuits against Bayer / Monsanto in the US?

[alex8912]

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Not to mention the push the US did on the Netherlands about weed. The US is certainly not a country that does things for the greater good. They usually got economic idea's behind it and in recent years the mistrust has only become greater. 

But the US is doing weed now way better than the Netherlands and huge $$ are being made by making it legal state by state. It’s not really legal in the Netherlands but many think it is. I work down the street in Brookline Ma 6 months of the year which is reported as the highest grossing dispensary in the states. The money being made is staggering! Great employment opportunities , Great for taxes ( 20%) great for Massachusetts and great for Brookline. The Netherlands should do weed soooo much better. 

[robblok]

10 minutes ago, alex8912 said:

But the US is doing weed now way better than the Netherlands and huge $$ are being made by making it legal state by state. It’s not really legal in the Netherlands but many think it is. I work down the street in Brookline Ma 6 months of the year which is reported as the highest grossing dispensary in the states. The money being made is staggering! Great employment opportunities , Great for taxes ( 20%) great for Massachusetts and great for Brookline. The Netherlands should do weed soooo much better. 

Yes I agree US doing it better then the Netherlands, but it was the US that forced the Netherlands to be more strict. Just an other example of the US sticking its nose where it should not be.

 

I agree 100% that the US is doing weed better now then in the Netherlands the faillure in the Netherlands to regulate the growing is just stupid. Lot of it because of religious parties holding the country back.

[farmerjo]

52 minutes ago, justin case said:

hahaha, you believe in santaclaus also ?

 

big chemical is lobbying to make / force people buy their dangerous chemicals

 

nothing new

 

No i don't believe santa claus.

And i can't believe the amount of non farmers that have been brainwashed by the NGO's scaremongering tactics who are in it for their share of the profits just like the multi nationals except without the money spent on R&D.

Greenpeace etc are behind Biothai getting their bodies in cuddling up to the politicians.

All driven from the EU and people say America should stay out of it. 

[robblok]

22 minutes ago, farmerjo said:

No i don't believe santa claus.

And i can't believe the amount of non farmers that have been brainwashed by the NGO's scaremongering tactics who are in it for their share of the profits just like the multi nationals except without the money spent on R&D.

Greenpeace etc are behind Biothai getting their bodies in cuddling up to the politicians.

All driven from the EU and people say America should stay out of it. 

I rather believe non farmers then farmers. Farmers are the ones with vested interests. The EU has done research and is banning the stuff. The EU is known to be far more safety conscious then the US. The US is now known to be corrupt and driven by money (Boeing saga and other things shows this).

 

The US has destroyed their own credibility on so many fronts that their comments are just not taken serious anymore by most of us. Do you really think that the big companies have not talked with Thrump and told him to do something. Quid pro Quo just like Thrump likes it. 

 

 

[BLACKJACK2]

1 hour ago, Assurancetourix said:

 

Besides, where are the thousands of lawsuits against Bayer / Monsanto in the US?

https://www.dw.com/en/bayer-faces-skyrocketing-us-lawsuits-over-glyphosate/a-49797934

[farmerjo]

13 minutes ago, robblok said:

I rather believe non farmers then farmers. Farmers are the ones with vested interests. The EU has done research and is banning the stuff. The EU is known to be far more safety conscious then the US. The US is now known to be corrupt and driven by money (Boeing saga and other things shows this).

 

The US has destroyed their own credibility on so many fronts that their comments are just not taken serious anymore by most of us. Do you really think that the big companies have not talked with Thrump and told him to do something. Quid pro Quo just like Thrump likes it. 

 

 

So this non farmer that all of a sudden is having a major say, Biothai has had 20 years to come up with an alternative to glyphosate.

Where is it?

There agenda is simple,to gain control of the seed business in Thailand through scaremongering tactics and it's working.

[robblok]

2 minutes ago, farmerjo said:

So this non farmer that all of a sudden is having a major say, Biothai has had 20 years to come up with an alternative to glyphosate.

Where is it?

There agenda is simple,to gain control of the seed business in Thailand through scaremongering tactics and it's working.

There wont be an alternative unless they ban it. I don't see problems in countries that banned it. Farmers wont switch until they have to force is the only language they understand.

 

Do you really think courts would award massive sums to people if the cancer link was not there ? 

 

The agenda of farmers is simple.. resist change at all cost.. as change is not something they like.

[Pedrogaz]

The US doing what the US does best...bullying and killing for profit.

[sgraham005]

"US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in December 2017 released its draft human health risk assessment, concluding glyphosate poses no meaningful risk to human health when used as authorised. " Impossible to believe anything coming out of the US EPA while the current administration is dictating policy. 

[ICELANDMAN]

Who announced this?  The Monsanto Bayer Embassy ?

[Khunbilly]

It’s interesting how hard the State Department is lobbying on behalf of big business. It’s normally not so blatant. 

[fvw53]

5 hours ago, farmerjo said:

I don't want to be rude but the NCHS was not an expert panel to decide.

America is offering their expert opinion on advanced agriculture.  

The same expert opinion the Federal Aviation Administration issued on defective Boeing 737 MAX ?

The USA is a corrupt country where everything is for sale ...including elected offices.

 

[farmerjo]

2 hours ago, robblok said:

There wont be an alternative unless they ban it. I don't see problems in countries that banned it. Farmers wont switch until they have to force is the only language they understand.

 

Do you really think courts would award massive sums to people if the cancer link was not there ? 

 

The agenda of farmers is simple.. resist change at all cost.. as change is not something they like.

I saw farming where i came from before glyphosate was introduced to the area.

And after.

The guys that stayed with the ploughs and scarifiers had the banks knocking on their doors and taking their farms away from them.

My brothers Fil used to grow organic wheat,dig the cow horns in facing zenith mumbo jumbo.

The price was marginally better but the yields were ordinary.Guess what they came and took his farm too. 

So if you think farmers can take a step or two backwards and weather the storm your wrong.

Unless subsidies are involved and i know your stance on that.

[chilly07]

2 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

The US doing what the US does best...bullying and killing for profit.

????????????????☠️????☠️☠️????☠️

[pmarlin]

Thailand will back off once the importers and users in Thailand realize what this will cost them and they go crying to the Government. This will cost Thailand  with lost of jobs and exports of food products.  Amazing how some are unable to see the big picture.

[natway09]

Tell the US to shove their request where the monkey shoves his nuts

Pure money grabbing request with no respect for peoples health