VICTORY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH: MONSANTO DEFEATED IN CALIFORNIA ROUNDUP CASE

Media Contacts
Kara Cook-Schultz

U.S. PIRG

Fresno, Calif. — A district court judge last week dismissed Monsanto’s lawsuit against the California Environmental Protection Agency. Based on the ruling, consumers will soon be informed of the health risks of Roundup and other products containing glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.

“This decision is an important victory for public health in California,” says Kara Cook-Schultz, National Director of U.S. PIRG’s campaign to Ban Roundup Now, “New evidence keeps coming to light showing that Roundup is a risk to our health. California absolutely should be able to warn its citizens that Roundup has the potential to cause cancer.” 

The lawsuit started in 2016 when the California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment announced it would list glyphosate as a carcinogen under Proposition 65. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup. Once listed as a carcinogen, businesses have to provide a warning label about the carcinogenic potential of the product to consumers using labels, signs, and/or notices.  Further, a listed chemical cannot be discharged into drinking water.

Faced with these restrictions on Roundup, Monsanto filed a lawsuit to prevent glyphosate from being added to California’s Proposition 65 list. The judge dismissed Monsanto’s arguments last week.

Roundup is the most-used weed killer in the country. Nearly 300 million pounds of Roundup are applied in the U.S. every year. Recent studies have found glyphosate in infant formulabeer, wine, and breast milk.

U.S. PIRG’s Ban Roundup Now campaign has been fighting to get the EPA to ban Roundup, and is working with local communities in California and across the country to limit the use of Roundup.

“The more we know, the more it’s clear that the health risks far outweigh the convenience of killing weeds with Roundup,” said Cook-Schultz. “California’s decision to list glyphosate and this court ruling are important steps toward weeding out the use of this chemical.”

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U.S. PIRG, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, is a consumer group that stands up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society.