Earlier this month, a group of 16 environmental, health, and farmer organizations released a statement calling for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove glyphosate-based products from the U.S. marketplace due to increasing evidence linking the herbicide to cancer. The agencies that signed off on the 14-page statement consist of:
- Beyond Pesticides
- Beyond Toxics
- Central Maryland Beekeepers Association
- Farmworker Association of Florida
- Food and Water Watch
- Friends of the Earth
- Kansas Rural Center
- Maryland Pesticide Education Network
- National Family Farm Coalition
- Northeast Organic Farming Association: Massachusetts Chapter
- Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides
- Organic Consumers Association
- People and Pollinators Action Network
- Pesticide Action Network
- Sierra Club
- Toxic Free North Carolina
The number of reputable agencies that signed off on the statement is indicative of the increase in public awareness of the risks associated with glyphosate exposure and use of glyphosate-based products, such as Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer. Today, over 18,400 pending lawsuits have been filed by plaintiffs claiming that long-term exposure to Roundup gave them a type of blood cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In the three cases that have gone to trial to-date, Monsanto was ordered to pay millions in damages to plaintiffs diagnosed with NHL due to the company’s failure to disclose health risks associated with glyphosate.
The statement was released in response to the EPA’s proposed interim registration review decision, in which it found that there are no human health safety findings associated with glyphosate and that glyphosate as it’s used today does not exceed levels of concern for human health problems. These findings contradict those of many independent peer-reviewed studies, and the EPA has previously faced criticism for allegedly working with Monsanto executives to cover up the health risks associated with Roundup.
The goal of the statement, according to the 16 involved organizations, is for the EPA to re-evaluate the toxicity of every formulated glyphosate product and suspend the registration of products that haven’t undergone additional testing. They claim that the “EPA’s myopic review and response to the dangers posed by glyphosate does a disservice to American farmers, farm workers, and commercial landscapers wishing to use the least-toxic products that do not put them at risk of health impacts, and consumers aiming to make the safest choice in regards to what to feed their family and how to manage their yards.”
If you or a loved one has developed cancer after being exposed to glyphosate, please call Pogust Millrood toll free at (888) 348-6787 or direct to our Pennsylvania office at (610) 941-4204 to see if you are entitled to seek damages.
A Pennsylvania native, Mike Daly has spent most of his life in the greater Philadelphia area. A proud graduate of Penn State and the Villanova School of Law, he's currently a partner at Pogust Millrood, where he represents individuals throughout the country in class action and mass tort claims involving consumer fraud, environmental harm, defective medical devices, and harmful pharmaceuticals.
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