The family has decided to break its silence as the European Commission plans to extend the authorization of glyphosate for ten years. Members of the European Union will vote this Friday.
“We must stop this product at all costs, to avoid new victims”, warns Sabine Grataloup this Tuesday, October 10 on franceinfo about glyphosate. She used this pesticide during her pregnancy and her son Théo, 16 years old, has suffered from a serious malformation of the trachea and esophagus since birth.
>> Glyphosate: a link between malformations and prenatal exposure to this weedkiller is recognized by the Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund, a world first
For the first time, the Commission for Compensation for Child Victims of Prenatal Exposure to Pesticides establishes a causal link between this woman’s exposure to glyphosate during her pregnancy and her son’s malformation. The amount of compensation represents approximately 36,000 euros. The decision was rendered in March 2022, but the family has now decided to break its silence as the European Commission considers extending the authorization of glyphosate for ten years. Members of the European Union will vote on Friday October 13.
franceinfo: What was your reaction when you learned of this decision from the Commission for Compensation for Child Victims of Prenatal Exposure to Pesticides?
Sabine Grataloup: It was a great relief, we had been fighting for years to have this link recognized, after alerting politicians, scientists and health authorities. We had to gather all the evidence ourselves, with our lawyers, to list the studies that exist on this subject, knowing that it is a little-studied subject. Most of the time, it is independent scientists who get started. To finally have a response from a committee of experts whose competence and independence are indisputable is something very, very powerful. The recognition of studies today has gaps. There have been a huge number of investigations which show that regulatory agencies only base themselves on a very small part of the published studies and often those carried out by the manufacturers themselves. This is insane.
The decision was rendered in March 2022, you had kept silent until then, why talk about it now?
“We kept silent to protect Théo. When we were publicized when the trial was announced, we were attacked by many people on social networks, by lobbies.”
Sabine Grataloup,at franceinfo
Now, what has pushed us to break the silence is the upcoming vote for the renewal of glyphosate in the European Union. We have heard people say this pesticide is safe and that it should be renewed for 10 years. While experts on the subject have stated the opposite!
Théo, your son, appeals directly to Emmanuel Macron to act, do you too?
Théo still has this confidence in those who govern us. I will not hide from you that since Emmanuel Macron said in 2017 that he would ban glyphosate within three years and we see that it is still authorized and that the government is even considering voting for its renewal at European level, I have doubts. This product must be stopped at all costs to avoid new victims. It is a widely used pesticide, which pollutes groundwater and can affect everyone. It is our duty as citizens to alert the political authorities and the general public.