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Monsanto to appeal glyphosate verdict that’s been upheld

A federal judge in California has upheld a jury’s verdict that Monsanto’s RoundUp caused a groundskeeper’s cancer and has reduced the total judgment from $289 Million dollars to $78 Million. But, Monsanto says it will appeal. The judge denied Monsanto’s request for a new trial but cut the punitive by $200-Million-dollars.

Monsanto spokeswoman Christi Dixon** tells Brownfield the court’s decision to reduce the punitive damage award is a step in the right direction but Monsanto continues to believe that the evidence at trial and the law do not support the liability verdict and damage awards. Monsanto says it stands by the large body of extensive research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides that conclude the products are safe.

**Monsanto statement:
The Court’s decision to reduce the punitive damage award by more than $200 million is a step in the right direction, but we continue to believe that the liability verdict and damage awards are not supported by the evidence at trial or the law and plan to file an appeal with the California Court of Appeal.

 Glyphosate-based herbicides have been used safely and successfully for over four decades worldwide and are a valuable tool to help farmers deliver crops to markets and practice sustainable farming by reducing soil tillage, soil erosion and carbon emissions. There is an extensive body of research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including more than 800 rigorous registration studies required by EPA, European and other regulators, that confirms that these products are safe when used as directed. Notably, the largest and most recent epidemiologic study – the 2018 independent National Cancer Institute long-term study that followed over 50,000 pesticide applicators and was published after the IARC monograph – found no association between glyphosate-based herbicides and cancer. Additionally, EPA’s 2017 post-IARC cancer risk assessment examined more than 100 studies the agency considered relevant and concluded that glyphosate is ‘not likely to be carcinogenic to humans,’ its most favorable rating.