Three farmers and an agronomist, all diagnosed with cancer, have filed a lawsuit against Monsanto, alleging the company purposely misled the public about the dangers of Roundup. Meanwhile Germany may abstain from the vote for European re-approval
The lawsuit featured in the article below (item 1) alleges Monsanto “concealed or systematically sought to discredit” research showing a link between the chemical and cancer and continues to do so.
Meanwhile the German government is unable to reach a consensus on a vote for or against the European re-authorisation of glyphosate and thus is likely to abstain (item 2). This means there is some doubt whether the required qualified majority for an approval will be reached.
1. Farmers sue Monsanto over alleged Roundup cancer link
2. Germany looks set to abstain in EU glyphosate vote
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1. Farmers sue Monsanto over alleged Roundup cancer link
By NICHOLAS BERGIN
Lincoln Journal Star, 14 May 2016
http://journalstar.com/business/agriculture/farmers-sue-monsanto-over-alleged-roundup-cancer-link/article_1af7cee9-1c24-54f3-ac93-81112ea9b68c.html
Three Nebraska farmers and an agronomist, all diagnosed with cancer, have filed a lawsuit against Monsanto alleging the seed and chemical giant of purposely misleading the public about the dangers of the world’s most widely used herbicide.
Monsanto markets glyphosate, the active ingredient in its herbicide-brand Roundup, as being able to kill nearly every weed out there yet being completely safe for people. It’s sold alongside Roundup Ready seeds that can be sprayed with the chemical without harm.
The New York Times in 2010 reported that 90 percent of soybeans and 70 percent of corn grown in the United States are from Roundup Ready seeds.
In March 2015 World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer labeled glyphosate as a probable cause of cancer in humans and said it is most associated with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and other haematopoietic cancers, including lymphocytic lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
Those most at risk, the agency said, are farmers, farm workers and others with workplace exposure to Roundup.
The four Nebraskans who brought the suit that was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Lincoln have all been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The lawsuit alleges Monsanto “concealed or systematically sought to discredit” research showing a link between the chemical and cancer and continues to do so.
“Monsanto championed falsified data and has attacked legitimate studies that revealed Roundup’s dangers. Monsanto led a campaign of misinformation to convince government agencies, farmers and the general population that Roundup is safe. Its continuing denial extends to the date of this Complaint,” the lawsuit says.
On its website, Monsanto says the labeling of its herbicide as a possible carcinogen conflicts with the consensus of regulatory bodies and science organizations, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“’Probable’ does not mean that glyphosate causes cancer; even at 100 times the exposure that occurs during normal labeled use glyphosate is not a human health risk,” the company’s website says.
The chemical works by inhibiting an enzyme essential for plant growth. Monsanto says that because that enzyme isn’t present in humans or animals, glyphosate is safe when used according to label directions.
Since being classified as a possible carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, several countries have banned or restricted the sale of glyphosate, including the Netherlands, France, Bermuda and Sri Lanka.
Monsanto has sued California to keep glyphosate off the state’s list of known carcinogens.
The plaintiffs in the Nebraska case include farmers Larry Domina and Robert Dickey both of Cedar County, York County farmer Royce Janzen and Dodge County agronomist Frank Pollard. They are being represented by a Omaha-based Domina Law Group and New York-based Weitz & Luxemborg.
Similar lawsuits have also been brought against Monsanto by agricultural workers in other states, including California and Delaware.
The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages.
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2. Germany looks set to abstain in EU glyphosate vote
Reuters, 12 May 2016
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-eu-glyphosate-idUSKCN0Y31MG
Germany looks set to abstain in a European Union vote next week on the continued use of glyphosate in weed killers because ministries run by different parties remain at odds over the chemical which some experts say could be carcinogenic.
Glyphosate is used in many herbicides including Monsanto's Roundup, despite a dispute between EU and U.N. agencies over whether it causes cancer.
Experts from the EU's 28 member states will hold a closed-door meeting on Wednesday and Thursday in Brussels to discuss a draft proposal, seen by Reuters, to extend by nine years approval of the herbicide.
Last month, European politicians advised that glyphosate should only be approved for another seven years, rather than the 15 proposed by the EU executive, and should not be used by the general public.
The European Commission said the new draft takes into account the opposition and maintains the proposal to ban some products because of the substances they combine with glyphosate, which could add to risks.
It said the banned "list of co-formulants" includes POE-tallowamine from glyphosate-containing pesticides.
"The common agreement remains that the attention must be focused on co-formulants," a spokeswoman for the Commission said. "If need be, they will lead to a review of the approval of the active substance." An EU source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least one big member state maintained opposition to renewal, which the EU executive says is needed to prevent a legal vacuum when the existing authorization lapses at the end of June.
But Germany's conservatives (CDU) and their junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD) cannot agree on a common position. If the German government cannot reach agreement, it will abstain from voting.
"It's proven that glyphosate has negative effects on the environment. That needs to be fully taken into account for the approval," Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, an SPD member, told Reuters.
"Given that there is still uncertainty about the health risks associated with glyphosate, the SPD-led ministries will not agree to the approval of glyphosate," she said. Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) - sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) - has, up until now, signaled that he would agree to the weed killer being approved. Martin Haeusling, a German lawmaker for the Greens in the European Parliament, said a qualified majority for the approval was not certain if Germany abstained from voting. Environmental campaigners have demanded a full ban on glyphosate.
"It is scandalous that the Commission is ramming through an EU approval for glyphosate to be used with no restrictions, despite the very serious concerns about the impact of this toxic substance on public health and the environment," said Green member of European Parliament and food safety spokesperson Bart Staes.
"Clearly banning glyphosate would be the responsible course of action," he said.
(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels and Hans-Edzard Busemann in Berlin. Writing by Michelle Martin and Alissa de Carbonnel. Editing by Dominic Evans)