Diseases & conditions

SCOTUS upholds Roundup Settlement

JUN 21 2022·Updated JAN 20 2023

Story

Image credit: AFP [via Time]

The Facts

On Tues., SCOTUS upheld a $25M settlement between manufacturing company Bayer and Edwin Hardeman, a Calif. man who said he developed cancer from using the company's Roundup weed killer.
Time
Bayer appealed the settlement citing the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) official stance that glyphosate -the chemical said to cause non-Hodgkin's lymphoma- is not carcinogenic.
wapo
The ruling - which sets a precedent for thousands of similar lawsuits -came as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected and ordered a re-examination of the EPA's 2020 findings on glyphosate.
New York Post
A wave of lawsuits were filed after Calif. required warning labels for herbicides containing glyphosate in 2015 due to an international research group finding that glyphosate is "probably carcinogenic to humans."
wapo
Bayer inherited Roundup and its litigation in 2018. Last year, they set aside $4.5B for settlements and paid $10B for earlier lawsuits. So far, Bayer has won four consecutive state lawsuits.
New York Post
Bayer maintains the product is safe but said it would remove glyphosate from Roundup intended for home use in 2023. Products containing the chemical will still be available for farm and professional use.
Time

Sources Split

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The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

While it was a long and hard-fought journey, Mr. Hardeman's perseverance has finally held Monsanto and Bayer accountable for corporate malfeasance and opened up the opportunity for thousands of other cancer patients to obtain justice for themselves and their families. Corporations are being held accountable.

wapo

Pro-establishment narrative

The EPA has ruled Roundup a safe product and Bayer has won four consecutive cases in state courts. These costly settlements against companies who do their due diligence are risking the future of innovation in agriculture, health, and other industries.