Right now, the Parkinson's community across Europe has a crucial opportunity to ban the use of the controversial pesticide glyphosate, which has been linked to public health risks such as cancer, Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

There is no cure for Parkinson's, but this is a chance to identify a possible cause of Parkinson's prevent and protect public health.

Why is it important to ban glyphosate?

Glyphosate is the most commonly used pesticide in Europe, but there is no concrete evidence that it is safe for health. Many national and international Parkinson's experts believe that the current EU testing and approval of glyphosate is inadequate.

What we do know, however, is that glyphosate is linked to biodiversity loss and bee deaths and, most alarmingly, evidence is mounting that it is a possible cause of Parkinson's.

For example, there is evidence of a connection between glyphosate exposure and damage to the brain region involved in Parkinson's disease. Numerous studies have shown that farmers and residents of agricultural land have a significantly increased risk of Parkinson's disease.

Other studies also suggest that long-term effects of glyphosate exposure include cancer, infertility, pregnancy problems, birth defects and respiratory diseases.

LEARN MORE: Read our Glyphosa FAQt!

How can we achieve a ban on glyphosate?

The European Commission is about to vote on a proposed 10-year license extension for the use of the controversial pesticide glyphosate. EU member states are allowed to vote on this proposal.

A previous vote in October failed to reach the required qualified majority, so another vote will take place on November 16. This has given us a unique opportunity to make our voices heard.

The Federal Republic of Germany abstained from voting in October.

Now we must convince our governments and policymakers to vote against the license renewal in the re-vote on November 16th to permanently end the use of glyphosate.

How can I help?

There are three quick, simple and effective actions you can take to help ban glyphosate:

Write an email to the ministers of agriculture, health and Environment your country.

It is important that your representatives know how important this issue is to you so that they can make this clear to the European Commission before the vote on November 16th.

Feel free to use ours for this letter template.

• Support the campaign of Parkinson's  Europe

Share our posts on social media to show your support where it will be seen by policymakers.

• Spread the word

Tell your friends, loved ones, Parkinson's groups and others about this campaign so they can also support a ban on glyphosate.

See also:

Bastiaan R Bloem, Tjiske A Boonstra: The inadequacy of current pesticide regulations to protect brain health: the case of glyphosate and Parkinson's disease