German agrochemical and pharmaceutical giant Bayer will complete its purchase of US seed company Monsanto on Thursday, the company announced on Monday.

The $63 billion (€53.9 billion) deal — the largest-ever foreign takeover by a German company — will go ahead after Bayer received approval from European and US anti-monopoly authorities.

As both companies have global operations, the deal had to be approved by 30 countries around the world. The additional conditions set out by the countries bumped up the costs for Leverkusen-based Bayer.

Under conditions set out by EU and US regulators, Bayer can only begin integrating Monsanto once it has sold off parts of its agrochemical and crop-seeds business to another German chemical giant, BASF. The company expects the sale to take around two months to complete.

Leaving Monsanto name behind

Although Bayer will become Monsanto's sole shareholder on Thursday, the US company's name will no longer be used going forward, the German firm said.

"Monsanto will no longer be a company name," the company said, adding: "The acquired products will retain their brand names and become part of the Bayer portfolio."

Monsanto has been heavily criticized, among other things, for its weed-killing products containing glyphosate. Some scientific studies and class-action lawsuits claim that glyphosate is carcinogenic.

Environmentalists are also concerned that the tie-up will place too much power in the hands of the two large producers of genetically modified crops and glyphosate herbicides.

Bayer CEO Werner Baumann emphasized that the company intends to listen to critics and is aware of its responsibility as a leading firm in the agricultural sector.

"We will apply the same rigor to achieving our sustainability targets as we do to our financial targets," said Baumann.

Bayer announced its intention to take over Monsanto in May 2016.

Yummy, yummy glyphosate! Ice cream Glyphosate has been found in Ben & Jerry's ice cream samples from Europe, according to the Health Research Institute. The attested quantities could be a health risk, says the US-based Organic Consumers Association. Ben&Jerry's insists the levels of glyphosate detected "were significantly below all allowable US and European standards."

Yummy, yummy glyphosate! Grains When glyphosate is used to kill weeds on fields of wheat, barley or rye, it can find its way into bread, buns, cakes, cookies or any other baked goods. That's how the herbicide ends up in your Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream.

Yummy, yummy glyphosate! Breakfast cereals Take cornflakes and muesli. Yes, these are made from field crops that are also sprayed with a glyphosate-based weed killer like Roundup. A 2018 Environmental Working Group report titled "Breakfast With a Dose of Roundup?" noted that all but two of 45 products tested had oats with traces of glyphosate, but that 31 of these showed alarming levels exceeding its own child safety standards.

Yummy, yummy glyphosate! Water Glyphosate is also in our water. In the water? Indeed, even there! When the weed killer is used on cultivated fields, after it rains, glyphosate seeps into the groundwater, rivers and lakes. And this way, it turns up not only in our food, but also in beverages ...

Yummy, yummy glyphosate! Beer ... like the world's most popular chillaxing drink — beer. Several studies have shown small amounts of glyphosate in the beverage made from grains and water — although the more dangerous thing about beer may still be the alcohol content.

Yummy, yummy glyphosate! Honey And whoever, at the end of this list, believes it's okay to smear some honey on what is hopefully a glyphosate-free organic roll, is likely to be unhappy. Flowers that attract bees, and that grow near fields sprayed with glyphosate, are likewise affected, and could turn your sweet hopes into something fairly bitter. Author: Klaus Esterluss



rs/ng (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)

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