Monsanto Forced to Pay $2 Billion in Damages After Jury Determines RoundUp Caused Cancer
Shane Trejo
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Controversial chemical company Monsanto will be forced to pay a stunning $2 billion in damages after a California jury found their herbicide RoundUp had resulted in two plaintiffs being diagnosed with cancer.
Plaintiffs Alva and Alberta Pilliod claimed that they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma as the result of using RoundUp for decades, and the jury found their claims to be credible. There are over 13,000 of these types of lawsuits pending, and the precedent could pose a serious threat to the corporate giant.
The Alameda County Superior Court’s findings come in contradiction with declarations made by federal bureaucrats. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a statement claiming that glyphosate, the active ingredient in RoundUp, poses no public safety hazard.
“EPA has found no risks to public health from the current registered uses of glyphosate,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said.
Bayer, which is now Monsanto’s parent company after a merger combined the two multinational corporations, is using the EPA’s statement to fight back against the judgment. They plan to file an appeal.
“Bayer is disappointed with the jury’s decision and will appeal the verdict in this case, which conflicts directly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s interim registration review decision released just last month,” the company said in a public statement.
“The consensus among leading health regulators worldwide that glyphosate-based products can be used safely and that glyphosate is not carcinogenic,” they added.
However, a report from an analysis conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015 contradicts the EPA’s findings. The WHO report concluded that glyphosate is “probably carcinogenic in humans.”
Despite the WHO’s findings, the federal deep state remains firmly behind Monsanto and the proliferation of RoundUp. The U.S. Department of Agriculture also vouches for the multinational behemoth’s weed killer.
“If we are going to feed 10 billion people by 2050, we are going to need all the tools at our disposal, which includes the use the glyphosate,” Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a public statement.
The EPA has proposed rules that would “help farmers target pesticide sprays on the intended pest, protect pollinators, and reduce the problem of weeds becoming resistant to glyphosate.” With these rules, they hope to facilitate the use of RoundUp even further throughout the U.S.
A San Francisco jury issued an $80 million award to another man who developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in March after the jury determined glyphosate was the cause.
Over 50 U.S. cities and counties have banned glyphosate citing its health risks, and these high-profile rulings may prompt more communities to do the same.
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