Labor attorney calls for ban on glyphosate in Brazil

The MPT (Public Ministry of Labor) filed a lawsuit, asking Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) and the federal government to prohibit the use of glyphosate, the best-selling herbicide in the world and widely used by Brazilian agribusiness.

The public civil action also seeks to prevent authorizations for the production, export, import, commercialization and use of the active ingredient and its compounds, citing risks to human life, occupational health and the work environment.

Members of the "GT Pesticides" Working Group, of the National Coordination for the Defense of the Workplace Environment and Workers' Health (Codemat), also call for the imposition of a fine of R$1 million in case of non-compliance.

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"The veto on the use of substances harmful to workers consists of a suitable measure and accepted by the jurisprudence of the STF to ensure rights such as life, health and the reduction of risks inherent to the activity, due to exposure to the deliberately contaminated work environment", stated the members of the GT, in the action.

According to them, Anvisa should review the decision and cancel all glyphosate registrations in Brazil. "The Pesticides Law (Law No. 14,785/2023), even though it has greatly weakened the possibility of inspection and control, has a provision that obliges the competent authority to re-analyze, in the case of warning of risks or discouragement of the use of pesticides by international organizations responsible for health, food or the environment of which Brazil is an integral member (Art. 3, § 9)", stated attorney Leomar Daroncho, a of GT members.

This was the case that even justified the legal action. "In early 2026, the scientific journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology withdrew a study from 2000, which was used to justify authorization of use by regulatory agencies. The study assured that the pesticide glyphosate would not be carcinogenic. But the magazine later found serious flaws in the research, which made it lose credibility", explained the text.

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In a note, attorney Leomar Daroncho states that, in 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen for humans, mainly non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"In addition, scientific studies, especially by INCA and Fiocruz, indicate that exposure represents a risk, even in small doses, for rural workers and their families, whether they are employees or owners", he warned.

Other side

German Bayer reported in a statement that regulatory scientific authorities have concluded "that glyphosate can be used safely and is not carcinogenic".

"Scientific regulatory authorities around the world - including Brazil - have repeatedly concluded, in their periodic reviews over many years, that glyphosate can be used safely and is not carcinogenic. We are confident that science-based facts will prevail throughout the process."

The retraction of the aforementioned article was highly controversial, with more than 60 scientists speaking out against this decision. Furthermore, because it was published 25 years ago, the study was not even considered by the European Union in its most recent evaluation and approval process. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Health Canada also stated that retracting the article would not change their assessments of glyphosate, the response continues.

Finally, Bayer says that the "article in question is a review of adequately conducted studies, which were separately submitted to regulatory authorities for review, and does not contain original data."

History

This was not the first process of its kind in Brazil. In 2023, prosecutors from GT Agrotoxicos asked the court to ban the ingredient atrazine in pesticides.

The Labor Court was recognized as competent to judge the matter, but no decision on the merits was taken.

According to the members of the GT, the number of authorizations for the commercialization of pesticide products reached 3,748 in 2022. "It is blatant and unjustifiable, in view of international law and the principles that constitute Brazilian constitutional identity, the double standard that exists in national regulatory activity: speed in releasing registration and slowness in the re-examination and prohibition of chemical substances banned internationally or considered highly deleterious by the most current science, due to the high degree of risk to health and the environment", they stated, citing that, in 2025, the record for approval and commercialization of pesticides was broken.

There were 914 new registrations, an increase of 38% compared to 2024. Sales, in 2024, reached 825.8 thousand tons, an increase of 9.3% compared to 2023, according to data from Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources).

Data from the Ministry of Health reveal that, in 2025, there was an 85% increase in poisonings recorded by pesticides compared to 2015. The members of the Pesticides GT point out: "The 9,729 cases in 2025 correspond to the average of 27 people poisoned per day. Our worst number."

Source: CNN