Bayer

August 15, 2023

GE, Bayer, blamed for child’s cancer in a community awash in PCB pollution

By Carey Gillam

A Massachusetts mother filed a lawsuit on Tuesday blaming widespread PCB pollution by General Electric (GE), Monsanto and its German owner Bayer AG, and several other companies for causing her 9-year-old son to develop leukemia and suffer repeated debilitating medical treatment.

Crystal Czerno alleges, among other things, that GE knowingly contaminated her son Carter’s elementary school and playground with PCB waste while downplaying the harm it could cause. The school is located in the town of Pittsfield, just north of a GE facility that made electrical transformers containing PCBS for more than 40 years. PCB-laden soil from the GE site was spread over the school grounds.

The lawsuit accuses the companies of using the community as a “dumping ground” for “toxic and cancerous” chemicals.

“As a mom I am supposed to protect my babies and I must now live with the fact that I moved them into a home and a school that put them in direct danger,” Czerno said. “My son Carter has paid the price.”

The young boy has undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy, as well as full-body radiation, and multiple stem cell transplants and bone marrow biopsies, according to the lawsuit. Another bone marrow biopsy is scheduled next week, his mother said.

May 25, 2023

Bayer investors granted class-action status in lawsuit over Monsanto deal

A federal judge has given the green light for a class-action lawsuit to proceed against Bayer AG brought by investors unhappy with the company’s $63 billion purchase of Monsanto Co. in 2018.

The suit, brought by three pension funds, alleges that Bayer AG misled investors over the risks of the acquisition and failed to properly perform due diligence before buying Monsanto, which at that time was the world’s largest seed company and the maker of the popular, but controversial, Roundup weedkiller.

Just weeks after closing the deal, Bayer shares plunged when Monsanto lost a bellwether trial brought by a California groundskeeper who alleged he developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma due to his exposure to Monsanto’s weed killer. The loss triggered a flood of additional litigation and ultimately led Bayer to agree in 2020 to pay roughly $11 billion to try to settle similar claims brought by more than 100,000 plaintiffs.

Bayer’s purchase of Monsanto was dubbed one of the “worst corporate deals” in recent history by the Wall Street Journal.

“These declines in the value of Bayer … caused Lead Plaintiffs and other Class members to suffer significant loss and damages,” wrote the plaintiffs’ law firm, Cohen Milstein, in a statement. ”

The lead plaintiffs in the action are the Sheet Metal Workers’ National Pension Fund and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local No. 710 Pension Fund, along with an additional plaintiff – the International Union of Operating Engineers Pension Fund of Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware.

May 12, 2023

Flaws in carbon credit programs for farms draw concerns

As fears about climate change grow, a new “gold rush” of carbon credit programs are incentivizing US farmers to slash greenhouse gas emissions generated by the practices they use growing crops and raising livestock. But experts say the programs face difficulty in ensuring that the credits provided truly match emission cuts.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that agriculture accounted for 11.2% of US greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun in the atmosphere, triggering harmful climate changes and increasing temperatures worldwide. Carbon dioxide is released when farmers till their fields, for instance, and nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas with almost 300 times more warming potential than carbon dioxide, is released when farmers spread fertilizer or manure on their fields.

In one increasingly popular mitigation strategy, private carbon programs pay farmers for implementing practices known to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, generating credits that can then be sold to large corporations wanting to use the credits to offset their own emissions. One tradable carbon credit equals one ton of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas reduced, sequestered or avoided.

Many programs pay farmers for planting cover crops — a practice shown to limit the amount of carbon dioxide that soils release into the air. But few offer any incentives for farmers to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, though nitrous oxide is a highly potent greenhouse gas. A 2021 report estimated nitrous oxide made up for 2.4% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, while the EPA estimates nitrous oxide makes up over half of all greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

As the popularity of carbon credit programs grows, concerns and questions about the validity of the programs to truly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from farms are also emerging. Carbon credit schemes have been criticized for a lack of rigorous accounting of the amount of carbon dioxide lost from soils. Additionally, the difficulty of measuring nitrous oxide emissions could mean some businesses are paying for carbon credits that don’t really reduce emissions as much as promised.

That’s the “worst-case scenario,” said Eric Slessarev, a biogeochemist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. “We better hope we’re right, on average, because if we’re not right, then we’re in trouble,” he said.

April 5, 2023

As trade dispute heats up, Mexico further slashes glyphosate imports

By Carey Gillam

Amid a high-stakes stand-off with US trade officials over favored American agricultural products, Mexico is slashing the amount of glyphosate allowed to be imported into the country by 50% for 2023.

The move is no surprise; Mexico issued a decree in 2020 giving its farmers until 2024 to stop using the weed killing chemical. But coming amid an increasingly heated dispute with US trade officials, the action underscores Mexico’s commitment to free itself from a dependence on the synthetic pesticides and genetically engineered crops promoted by American interests.

Along with banning glyphosate, Mexico is ratcheting back imports of genetically engineered corn that is designed to be sprayed with glyphosate. Mexico says the changes are needed to protect the health of its population. The country has also signaled concerns about other GMO crops sprayed with glyphosate.

Glyphosate is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, and is linked to an array of other human and environmental health problems. It was introduced by Monsanto in 1974 and is the world’s most widely used weed killer, known best as the active ingredient in the Roundup brand. Monsanto developed genetically engineered corn, soybeans, canola and other crops to tolerate being sprayed with glyphosate, a trait that makes it easier for farmers to kill weeds in their fields.

Foods made with crops sprayed with glyphosate commonly carry residues of the weed killer, and people then consume the residues through their daily diets.

Mexico’s retreat from these types of agricultural products has triggered a firestorm of industry opposition in the United States. In response, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) and other US agencies are fighting Mexico’s efforts, alleging violations of trade provisions of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) alleging violations of trade provisions of the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) with respect to Mexico’s restrictions on GMO corn.

Mexico’s policies “threaten to disrupt billions of dollars in agricultural trade,” the USTR said in a press statement last month. Mexico’s moves to limit GMO corn “will stifle the innovation that is necessary to tackle the climate crisis and food security challenges if left unaddressed,” the USTR said.

The two sides started “technical consultations” regarding Mexico’s measures to limit GMO corn by an April 5 deadline as a formal first step to try to resolve the dispute.

March 16, 2023

Monsanto accused of wrongly excluding non-US citizen from Roundup settlement

By Huanjia Zhang

(This story was originally published in Environmental Health News and is republished here with permission.)

Monsanto Co. and its corporate parent Bayer are facing a federal lawsuit for civil rights violations after they allegedly excluded a farmworker from a Roundup cancer settlement because of her immigration status.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia, plaintiff Elvira Reyes-Hernandez is a migrant farmworker who worked on Virginia tree farms between 2015 and 2018, during which she sprayed the herbicide Roundup regularly.

In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) listed glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” Over the years, a wide body of scientific evidence has also pointed to glyphosate exposure as causing an increased risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Reyes-Hernandez was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2019 and subsequently sued Monsanto, claiming that Roundup exposure had a role in causing her cancer.

“Monsanto is very likely making calculated risks based on the characteristics of the people who are using their products,” said Katy Youker, an attorney for Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and a co-counsel for the case.

By excluding non-US citizens from the settlement program, she said, Monsanto is effectively putting up a huge barrier for migrant farmworkers — most of whom do not have citizenship but are at the forefront of Roundup exposure — from seeking restitution.

This case could send an encouraging message to migrant and undocumented farmworkers who wish to bring legal action against the company. However, legal experts and farmworker advocates are still pessimistic about the prospect of them coming forward, especially when facing a myriad of hurdles and obstacles.

March 2, 2023

California pushes ahead with its new pesticide-reduction plan

By Pam Strayer and Carey Gillam

Amid mounting evidence of the risks some synthetic pesticides pose to human and environmental health, California regulators this week were pushing ahead with a recently announced “roadmap” aimed at transitioning the state to more sustainable options for managing weeds and insects,

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), in partnership with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), held two public webinars on Thursday seeking to explain the details of the plan – and bolster support for it – as the state nears the March 13 close of the public comment period on the proposal.

State officials announced the plan in January, saying the goal is to eliminate the use of “high-risk pesticides” by 2050 to “better protect the health of our communities and environment, while supporting agriculture, food systems and community well-being.”

That message was underscored in Thursday’s event: “The evolving science about risks and impacts from certain pesticide uses on our health and our environment, which too commonly impacts communities already overburdened by other environmental hazards, point to the importance of accelerating this system-wide shift,” Clare Mendelsohn deputy secretary for public policy at California Environmental Protection Agency, said in the evening webinar.

State officials say the Sustainable Pest Management (SPM) plan is visionary and will significantly overhaul harmful agricultural practices in the state, helping protect farmworkers and others put at risk through exposure to pesticides known to be harmful to human health.

CDFA Secretary Karen Ross has said that once implemented, the recommendations would “ensure an abundant and healthful food supply, protect our natural resources, and create healthy, resilient communities.”

But some say the plan falls short in many respects, and that faster and more aggressive actions are needed to protect and enhance soil health, adapt to climate change, and protect human health.

March 1, 2023

California researchers link popular weedkiller to health problems in young adults

By Carey Gillam

Children exposed to a weedkiller commonly used in farming, as well as on residential yards and school playgrounds, appear to be at increased risk for liver inflammation and metabolic disorders in young adulthood and more serious diseases later in life, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The research, which was conducted by several California scientists and health researchers, including from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, is the latest of many studies linking glyphosate herbicide to human health problems.

Glyphosate is better known as the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup products as well as scores of other weedkilling brands sold around the world. The chemical is considered the most widely used herbicide in history, and residues are commonly present in food and water, as well as in human urine.

Monsanto and Bayer AG, which bought Monsanto in 2018, maintain that Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides are safe when used as directed, and say the weight of scientific evidence demonstrates that safety. But more than 100,000 people in the US have alleged exposure to the weedkiller caused them to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Many independent scientific studies have linked glyphosate to cancers as well as liver disease, endocrine disruption and other health problems.

In the new study, researchers tracked 480 “mother-and-child duos” who live in the Salinas Valley of California, a key agricultural area, analyzing levels of glyphosate weed killer used in the area and levels of the weedkiller present in the urine of the mothers while they were pregnant and in the children as they grew. They also took into account levels of a degradation product of glyphosate known as AMPA in the urine of the study subjects. The researchers then assessed the liver and metabolic health of the children at the age of 18.

They concluded that higher levels of glyphosate residue and AMPA in urine in childhood and adolescence were associated with higher risk of liver inflammation and metabolic disorders in young adulthood. In addition, they found that agricultural use of glyphosate near participants’ homes from birth and up through age five was associated with metabolic disorders at age 18. Metabolic disorders in youth can lead to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and liver disease later in life.

Both metabolic problems and liver disorders are increasing among children and young adults, according to the study.

February 21, 2023

University under fire for handling of professor who testifies against Monsanto

By Carey Gillam
(UPDATED to include news that University drops restrictions on Carpenter.)

University officials in New York are wrongfully restricting the activities of a long-tenured professor and are helping Monsanto-owner Bayer AG undermine the professor’s credibility as an expert witness in litigation over the harmful impacts of toxic chemicals, according to a complaint submitted to the university on Tuesday.

The complaint was filed with the University at Albany by the Washington, D.C.-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), an advocacy group representing public employees involved in environmental work, on behalf of David Carpenter, director of the university’s Institute for Health and the Environment. The university is part of the State University of New York (SUNY).

The University at Albany has come under fire for taking various actions to limit Carpenter’s work over the last year, including banishing him from campus and barring him from teaching classes. The complaint alleges that the university did so because of pressure from the chemical industry, causing “social, emotional and reputational harm” to Carpenter.

“Dr. Carpenter’s work has drawn the ire of chemical companies because it provides scientific evidence of the toxicity and health impacts of their products and supports compensation for those who have been injured,” PEER states in its complaint. “It appears that the actions taken against Dr. Carpenter make the University complicit in an effort to silence him and undermine the credibility of his research and expert testimony regarding the health impacts of toxic chemicals.”

Supporters of Carpenter are planning a rally at the state capitol building in Albany on Thursday. They have also set up a website to support him, and have launched a petition drive demanding he be fully re-instated at the university. Roughly 900 people had signed the petition as of Monday.

The university issued a statement Tuesday saying the issue with Carpenter is a “matter of compliance and is wholly independent of the content of the testimony, the parties to the litigation or the work being performed.”

The university further said that it has a responsibility “to operate with the highest legal and ethical standards, and to follow the law and procedures without undue consideration of external influence and pressure.”

September 23, 2022

US EPA to withdraw interim registration review decision for glyphosate

By Shannon Kelleher and Carey Gillam

US regulators on Friday said they would withdraw all remaining portions of the interim registration review decision for the weed killer glyphosate.

The move comes after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion saying EPA had violated the law in its assessment of glyphosate, which is the world’s most widely used weed killer and the active ingredient in Roundup and numerous other herbicide products.

The court found that EPA had ignored important studies in its human health safety assessment of the chemical and had also violated the Endangered Species Act. The EPA’s withdrawal comes before an October 1 deadline under which the agency was supposed to have completed its assessment. EPA had asked the court to extend its deadline but the court denied the request.

In its June 17 opinion, the 9th circuit said the agency’s 2020 assessment of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, was flawed in many ways. The federal appeals court ruled that EPA failed to follow established guidelines for determining cancer risk, ignored important studies, and discounted expert advice from a scientific advisory panel. The EPA applied “inconsistent reasoning” in finding that the chemical does not pose “any reasonable risk to man or the environment,” the panel determined.

The court vacated the human health portion of the EPA’s glyphosate assessment and said the agency needed to apply “further consideration” to evidence. The 9th Circuit also said the agency violated the Endangered Species Act in its assessment.

September 2, 2022

Roundup litigation at turning point as Bayer rejects “global resolution plan”

By Carey Gillam

Fresh off a fifth-in-a-row trial victory, Monsanto owner Bayer AG is rejecting a proposed “global resolution plan” put forward by plaintiffs’ lawyers as a last chance to try to settle tens of thousands of pending Roundup cancer claims before a wave of new trials get underway, newly filed court documents show.

The company stance comes at a pivotal point in the ongoing nationwide litigation involving plaintiffs who allege they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) from exposure to Monsanto’s glyphosate-based weed killers, such as Roundup.

The group of law firms leading the cases in what is called “multidistrict litigation (MDL)” is asking US District Court Judge Vince Chhabria to approve a plan that would set a 60-day window in which both sides would try to forge a final global settlement that would cover the claims of roughly 30,000 plaintiffs.

If no settlement can be reached, the plaintiffs’ firms want the judge to start the process of dissolving the MDL and clearing waves of cases to go to trial in the states where they originated.

The plaintiffs’ law firms say the current court-approved settlement process, which has been ongoing for two years, is too slow and ties plaintiffs into a mediation process that provides only low-ball settlement offers to plaintiffs while delaying trials.

“The offers made within the settlement program appear to be woefully inadequate. Thus, a substantial number of MDL cases remain unresolved by the settlement program, and it is highly unlikely that these cases will be settled absent global resolution or an imminent trial setting,” the plaintiffs’ firms said in a Sept. 1 court filing.

In opposing the proposal, Monsanto lawyers said the current MDL structure should be maintained and the mediation process kept in place. The company lawyers argued that disbanding the MDL and sending “thousands of current and future cases to district courts throughout this country” would “bring chaos to bear.”