Following the guilty verdict handed out on Friday to Monsanto in the landmark legal case in San Francisco, which judged that the glyphosate-based weedkiller Roundup causes cancer, the pressure has mounted on Monsanto’s new owner Bayer from all over the world.
Sustainable Pulse has put a review together of some of the most important global reactions to the verdict, which is set to see Monsanto pay out $289 Million in total damages to Mr. Dewayne Johnson, in the first of over 5000 legal cases that have been filed.
European Political Pressure
A spokesman for the German Environment Ministry stated on Monday:
“Use of glyphoste-based weed-killers should be halted during the current legislative period which ends in three years.”
France’s Environment Minister, Nicolas Hulot, told France 24:
“This is the end of arrogance for Bayer and Monsanto. But it (this verdict) can never repair what this American gardener has irreversibly suffered. This is also true for Paul François [a Charentais cereal farmer who has been fighting Monsanto since 2007 after he was seriously poisoned by the Monsanto herbicide Lasso],” said Hulot. “Nothing will repair the pain and loneliness of these victims. It really is the weak fighting against the strong.
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Luigi De Maio, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Economic Development, Labour and Social Policies, posted on Facebook:
“This judgment is sadly correct: we must combat the invasion on our market of this substance, a threat that comes with monstrous trade agreements signed only in the name of profit. Health and the precautionary principle are the beacon of our government action. It is enough for trade agreements that endanger the health of citizens.”
Eric Andrieu, chair of the European Parliament’s special committee on the EU’s pesticide authorization process Tweeted:
“When there is a controversy it is necessary to at the very least apply the precautionary principle in order to protect the health of 500 million Europeans,”
Retailer Pressure
Some of the largest retailers in the UK – Homebase, Wilko and B&Q – stated Monday that they have already started a review of their glyphosate product ranges.
Cancer Council Pressure
Cancer Council Australia’s chief executive officer Professor Sanchia Aranda said:
“Studies — which are of variable quality — are mixed. But some definitely show an association with cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in people who use these chemicals frequently,”
“There’s some suggestion in the US court case that they have more information than what they’re letting on. We would also be concerned by the concealment of evidence that might support this man’s case.”
Stock Market Pressure
Bayer shares plunged as much as 14% to a five-year low in the wake of the verdict and Scotts Miracle-Gro (the exclusive distributor and marketer of consumer Roundup in the U.S.) saw shares tumble over 3%.
In Australia concerns about glyphosate drove down Nufarm shares almost 17 % to their lowest since February 2016.
Macquarie Bank analysts estimate Nufarm earns about a fifth of its revenue from products containing glyphosate, the world’s most widely-used herbicide.
“There is longer term regulatory risk (regarding) this, if (we) do see a change of regulatory stance over time,” Macquarie analysts wrote in a note published on Monday.
(7 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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What this trial has done beyond expose what they have done to farmers and gardeners around the world, is to highlight the total collusion of government science and big business to put profits ahead of facts.
Monsanto has done more to negatively impact human heath than just about any other company in the history of humanity. That they will continue to push the lie that Gysophate is safe is a given, and so of course they will appeal over and over wasting as much time and money as they can pretending to be decent.
We as consumers have to understand that neither companies like Bayer/Monsanto, nor many governments, have at the core, any interest in our well being.
it is clear only money matters, and the force of it is so strong our elected leadership will bow down in front of it before they would protect us with the truth.
To hear the European leaders speak about the importance of following the precautionary principle because 500 million lives may be at risk, is so refreshing. Imagine that. Unfortunately, us Americans, have the EPA and others who do the exact opposite. They collude with the chemical companies and not only fail to warn, but aid in the propagation of lies. God help us here in the USA. Bravo European leaders!
Andy Dominic’s comment above is right on. I’m ashamed to say the British government haven’t made any commitment or even given a statement on this. That’s because post Brexit, they seem prepared to scrap any EU legislation which stands in the way of trade. Even if that means allowing food imports which will poison us all, allow products which in the EU were banned because they have huge negative environmental impact or trade with countries who have atrocious human rights records.
I’d hoped Britain would represent something better than this in the world community.