Profits Over People: Bayer’s Toxic History Catches Up with Them in the Round Up Lawsuit
According to the Guardian, the weed killer market is worth $9 billion.
Would you be shocked to know that the common household product you can pick-up at the grocery store, Roundup, has an origin story that begins with Agent Orange?
Yes, the chemical warfare product made famous by the Vietnam War and a 1970s punk band.
But luckily, the past is catching up with this corporate monstrosity.
Since one Roundup lawsuit that accused the product of causing cancer ruled in favor of the plaintiff in late 2018, thousands of new cases have been filed.
Here’s everything you need to know about Round Up.
Understanding the Problem with Roundup
For many people, the claims against Roundup seemed to come out of nowhere, but the weed killer has a nearly 50 year-long shady past.
Roundup is sold in grocery stores and used by the general public to groom their gardens. It’s used commercially by groundskeepers and farmers to keep grass green and crops flourishing.
That was all Roundup was seen as when it was incepted in the 1970s.
Roundup is made by Monsanto, the company that brought us, Agent Orange. An herbicide used as chemical warfare during the Vietnam war, that causes many fatal diseases and forms of cancer.
However, in the mid-1980s, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified the weed killer as a carcinogen. Identifying the chemical glyphosate as being toxic to humans and animals.
Conveniently an executive at Monsanto, Roundup’s parent company, became Director of Environmental Assessment and Toxicology at the EPA quickly after this label was given. The label was removed shortly after.
Through the 1990s Monsanto put in a lot of work to reverse the public’s view of glyphosate being seen as a “bad” ingredient. It wasn’t until 2012 – 2015, after use of Roundup across the world was booming, that scientists began to reveal the harmful effects of the chemical again.
The research on Roundup is astonishing. The World Health Organization labeled glyphosate “probably carcinogenic to humans.” A university found glyphosate in the urine of 93% of Americans. Glyphosate was found in many common foods. It was proven to cause liver disease.
Inevitably, in 2017 after all of this research was released. Lawsuits against Monsanto and Roundup began to emerge.
A Breakdown of the Round Up Lawsuit
Although Roundup continues to be sold everywhere, the company is having to pay for their actions financially.
The groundbreaking lawsuit that started them all was when a pest-control manager and groundskeeper in California filed a lawsuit against the corporation, after developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
After months of court battles, a jury found that Monsanto was in fact to blame. Due to the piles of research against glyphosate that the company chose to turn their nose at.
The trial resulted in the jury awarding the $289 million awarded to the plaintiff. CNN reports that the award amount was so large because the jury wanted to “punish” the corporation. However, damages have since been cut down to $78 million.
This lawsuit leads to over 8,000 more people filing lawsuits. In 2019 another California man was awarded $80 million in damages. This man, also suffering from non-Hodgkins lymphoma, who had used Roundup for more than two decades regularly.
As of March 2019, there are now 11,200 lawsuits currently filed against the company. That’s 3,200 more lawsuits filed since 2018 alone.
Will each lawsuit result in multi-million dollar fines for the company? Eventually running them out of business? If only it were that simple.
What’s Next for Roundup
Since the lawsuits started, pharmaceutical company Buyer has purchased Monsanto. Shedding the Monsanto name, and becoming the new owner of Round Up.
Despite thousands of lawsuits, dozens of new studies and controversial history that proves that Roundup and its primary ingredient glyphosate are in fact dangerous.
Many agricultural workers are still at risk. Farmworkers, landscapers, groundskeepers and anyone who deals with commercially grown plants are at risk of developing ailments caused by Roundup.
Even residents in agricultural communities should are at risk.
The company is maintaining its stance that these accusations are a result of mass hysteria. Do 11,200 people really have nothing better to do? Disgusting!
With the Trump administrations new advisors and looking over the EPA, and a long history of Monsanto executives being intertwined in the decision-making process for federal policies regarding the use of glyphosate.
To end the use of Roundup in our corn, cotton and soybean supply, we need to attack at a local level.
States like Vermont, New York, and Hawaii have placed state-wide bans on the product. While hundreds of cities across America like Reno, Nevada; Portland, Maine; Chicago, Illinois; Miami, Florida and Los Angeles, California have all initiated restrictions.
After the conclusion of the second major Roundup trial resulted in the company being at fault for knowingly causing cancer, the company’s shares dropped by 12 percent.
This should make the public hopeful.
How Can Roundup and Bayer Be Beat?
It’s clear that a Round Up lawsuit is the best way to combat the corporate heavyweight. But it takes work.
If you’re thinking about taking a stand against Roundup or Bayer, our company has represented thousands in similar cases.
We work with families and individuals who have been hurt by drugs, chemicals, and other negligent consumer products.
We specialize in these types of cases and are currently taking on clients who have fallen victim to Roundup.
For questions, concerns or to set-up a consultation, contact us at 210-622-2600.