Glyphosate scandal in Elmshorn: Trees poisoned again!

Glyphosate scandal in Elmshorn: Trees poisoned again!

Elmshorn, Deutschland - in Elmshorn, a city in the Pinneberg district, a new incident with glyphosate provides concerned faces. Two red oaks were presumably poisoned with the environmental pest. This was noticed during a routine examination after the leaf fall was found on the trees. Analyzes showed that glyphosate could be detected in both the leaves and in the bottom of the trees affected. The city of Elmshorn then filed a complaint against unknown people to get to the bottom of the incident. However, there is currently no danger for the residents, since the city continues to ensure that there is no traffic hazard from the trees, reports ndr .

glyphosate, a frequently used means to combat unwanted plants, is also popular in agriculture. Its history dates back to the 1970s and it is the most frequently used weed destruction worldwide. In Germany, a prohibition of the by January 2024 should come into force, but was classified as legally invalid due to an EU extension of the approval. Despite controversy, glyphosate remains allowed in agriculture under certain conditions. In the canton of Solothurn, a place in Switzerland, the cantonal parliament recently decided against a complete ban and continued to allow the economical use of the agent, in particular to combat invasive plants, such as srf.ch reported.

history and future developments

Before that there were similar incidents in Elmshorn. An earlier case meant that the red oaks were bare after three years and ultimately dead. This raises questions about long -term security and the possible consequences of using glyphosate. While the annual glyphosate consumption in Switzerland is around 300 tons and is considered economical, the world shows a different dimension with a total of 700,000 tons in use. These numbers illustrate how deeply rooted glyphosate in modern agriculture.

In Elmshorn, it is now being observed closely whether and how the health risk for humans and nature could be influenced by these incidents. In addition, there are efforts not only to be used by chemical means, but also with mechanical methods against undesirable plants that are considered more environmentally friendly in many countries. The road inspectorate in the canton of Solothurn has already taken a few steps in this direction and shows that an alternative approach is quite possible when dealing with invasive plants.