Green groups unite to test pee for pesticides

New sustainable food coalition Robin Food is going to hand out 500 free urine tests to enable people to measure the amount of the pesticide glyphosate in their bodies.

The Netherlands has ruled out voting for a European ban on glyphosate, preferring to wait for the results of an investigation by the public health institute RIVM into its harmful effects. Pesticides have been linked to neurological illnesses, such as Parkinson’s, and certain types of cancer.

The piskijker (literally “piss watcher”) test has already been ordered by former Unilever CEO Paul Polman, as well as Urgenda’s Marjan Minnema and founder of the pro-animal party PvdD Marianne Thieme. They, along with organic food producers, NGO’s and scientists, form part of the coalition.

“This test will show you how much pesticides you have in your body. If it’s higher than you thought we recommend you eat organic food for a while. Experiments in the US and the Scandinavian countries have shown that the amount of glyphosate and other pesticides will fall significantly,” initiator Volkert Engelsman said.

To become a “pissfluencer” people can go to Robinfoodcoalition.com. “We hope [caretaker agriculture minister] Piet Adema will join us and also test his pee,” Engelsman said.

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