The former head of EPA’s cancer assessment review committee, Jess Rowlands, advised European counterparts to disregard a study that linked cancer in mice to glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world, said The Guardian. It said court documents show that Rowlands “had previously told Monsanto he would try to block a U.S. inquiry into the issue.”
Monsanto launched the era of GMO crops two decades ago by genetically engineering corn, soybeans and cotton varieties to withstand doses of glyphosate, which it made. The future of the weedkiller was put in doubt when the WHO cancer agency concluded in March 2015 that glyphosate was probably carcinogenic to humans. Monsanto disagreed and regulatory bodies in Europe and the United States examined the question. The European Commission, the administrative arm of the EU, proposed a new 10-year license for glyphosate last week.
Plaintiffs in U.S. lawsuits against Monsanto say Rowlands took an overly friendly view toward Monsanto. A Monsanto official said in an email that Rowlands, who was nearing retirement, “could be useful as we move forward with (the) ongoing glyphosate defense,” said The Guardian.
“Documents seen by the Guardian show that Rowlands took part in a teleconference with (the European Food Safety Authority) as an observer in September 2015,” said the newspaper. “Six weeks later, EFSA adopted an argument Rowlands had used to reject a key 2001 study which found a causal link between exposure to glyphosate and increased tumour incidence in mice.”
Environmental group Greenpeace said that news of an EFSA-Rowlands connection made a public inquiry vital, reported The Guardian.