As the Environmental Protection Agency moves to greenlight the continued use of glyphosate in the United States for another 15 years, a coalition of environmental and consumer advocacy groups on Wednesday delivered nearly 150,000 petitions urging the agency to ban the cancer-linked herbicide.

The coalition’s call comes ahead of the July 5 deadline for public comment on the EPA’s interim registration review of glyphosate, which says the herbicide poses no health risks to humans.

“It’s time for the EPA to stand up to Monsanto-Bayer and protect farmers, farm workers, lawn care workers, and consumers.”
—Alexis Baden-Mayer

Jason Davidson, food and agriculture campaign associate at Friends of the Earth, said in a statement that the scientific evidence contradicts the EPA’s assessment of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup.

“The science is clear about glyphosate,” Davidson said. “This dangerous herbicide causes serious health risks, including cancer, and threatens our environment. EPA must do its job and ban this toxic pesticide instead of prioritizing corporate profits.”

In a press release, Friends of the Earth said the EPA cited “Monsanto-funded studies in its evaluation” of glyphosate.

Drew Toher, community resource and policy director at Beyond Pesticides, said the EPA is “getting the science wrong… and needs to listen to international agencies and peer-reviewed literature on the dangers posed by widespread use of this herbicide.”