Landmark lawsuit claims Monsanto hid cancer danger of weedkiller for decades

[donnay]

Landmark lawsuit claims Monsanto hid cancer danger of weedkiller for decades

In June, a California groundskeeper will make history by taking company to trial on claims it suppressed harm of Roundup

At the age of 46, DeWayne Johnson is not ready to die. But with cancer spread through most of his body, doctors say he probably has just months to live. Now Johnson, a husband and father of three in California, hopes to survive long enough to make Monsanto take the blame for his fate.

On 18 June, Johnson will become the first person to take to trial on allegations that it has spent decades hiding the cancer-causing dangers of its popular Roundup herbicide products – and his case has just received a major boost.

Last week Judge Curtis Karnow issued an order clearing the way for jurors to consider not just scientific evidence related to what caused Johnson’s cancer, but allegations that Monsanto suppressed evidence of the risks of its weed killing products. Karnow ruled that the trial will proceed and a jury would be allowed to consider possible punitive damages.

“The internal correspondence noted by Johnson could support a jury finding that Monsanto has long been aware of the risk that its glyphosate-based herbicides are carcinogenic … but has continuously sought to influence the scientific literature to prevent its internal concerns from reaching the public sphere and to bolster its defenses in products liability actions,” Karnow wrote. “Thus there are triable issues of material fact.”

Johnson’s case, filed in San Francisco county superior court in California, is at the forefront of a legal fight against Monsanto. Some 4,000 plaintiffs have sued Monsanto alleging exposure to Roundup caused them, or their loved ones, to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Another case is scheduled for trial in October, in Monsanto’s home town of St Louis, Missouri.

The lawsuits challenge Monsanto’s position that its herbicides are proven safe and assert that the company has known about the dangers and hidden them from regulators and the public. The litigants cite an assortment of research studies indicating that the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicides, a chemical called glyphosate, can lead to NHL and other ailments. They also cite research showing glyphosate formulations in its commercial-end products are more toxic than glyphosate alone. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen in 2015.

Monsanto “championed falsified data and attacked legitimate studies” that revealed dangers of its herbicides, and led a “prolonged campaign of misinformation” to convince government agencies, farmers and consumers that Roundup was safe, according to Johnson’s lawsuit.

“We look forward to exposing how Monsanto hid the risk of cancer and polluted the science,” said Michael Miller, Johnson’s attorney. “Monsanto does not want the truth about Roundup and cancer to become public.”

Monsanto has fiercely denied the allegations, saying its products are not the cause of cancer. The IARC finding was wrong, according to Monsanto, as are studies finding glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides like Roundup to be potentially carcinogenic. Monsanto points to findings by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other regulatory authorities as backing its defense.

“Glyphosate-based herbicides are supported by one of the most extensive worldwide human health and environmental effects databases ever compiled for a pesticide product,” Monsanto states on its website. “Comprehensive toxicological and environmental fate studies conducted over the last 40 years have time and again demonstrated the strong safety profile of this widely used herbicide.”

A company spokeswoman did not respond to a request for additional comment.

How the Johnson lawsuit plays out could be a bellwether for how other plaintiffs proceed. If Johnson prevails, there could be many more years of costly litigation and hefty damage claims. If Monsanto successfully turns back the challenge, it could derail other cases and lift pressure on the firm.

According to the court record, Johnson had a job as a groundskeeper for the Benicia unified school district where he applied numerous treatments of Monsanto’s herbicides to school properties from 2012 until at least late 2015. He was healthy and active before he got the cancer diagnosis in August 2014. In a January deposition, Johnson’s treating physician testified that more than 80% of his body was covered by lesions, and that he probably had but a few months to live. Johnson has improved since starting a new drug treatment in November but remains too weak sometimes to even speak or get out of bed, his attorneys and doctors state in court filings.

Monsanto’s lawyers plan to introduce evidence that other factors caused Johnson’s cancer, to challenge the validity of the science Johnson’s claims rely on, and to present their own experts and research supporting safety. The company has an EPA draft risk assessment of glyphosate on its side, which concludes that glyphosate is not likely carcinogenic.

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ial-cancer-weedkiller-roundup-dewayne-johnson

 

[donnay]

BREAKING NEWS - Roundup IS cancerous: Jury awards $285 million to terminally-ill groundsman who used the weedkiller

By MIA DE GRAAF HEALTH EDITOR FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and MARY KEKATOS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 18:06 EDT, 10 August 2018

Roundup does cause cancer, a jury has declared in an unprecedented trial into the health dangers of Monsanto's weedkiller.

After three days of deliberations, jurors on Friday sided with terminally-ill groundsman Dewayne Johnson, 46, who has just weeks to live, awarding him $250 million in punitive damages, plus compensation, bringing the total to $285 million.

Lawyers were demanding $412 million for the married father-of-two, who doctors say has just weeks left to live.

The groundskeeper, who worked for years in Benicia, California, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - a cancer that starts in the white bloods cells - in August 2014.

He mixed and sprayed hundreds of gallons of Roundup to keep grass and weeds under control and believes the pesticide, which is made by Monsanto, is responsible for his terminal illness.

The liable verdict means the case could open the door to hundreds of additional lawsuits against the company recently acquired by German-based pharmaceutical and chemical group Bayer.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6049007/Roundup-cancerous-jury-declares.html

 

[phill4paul]

Wow. That opens them up to other lawsuits. I see lawyers around the country putting together lists of contracted victims so they can bundle them and make a fortune. The lawyers, not so much the victims.

 

[angelatc]

How wonderful for them that the judge decreed they aren't limited to just actual proof.

 

[timosman]

Jurors give $289 million to a man they say got cancer from Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/10/health/monsanto-johnson-trial-verdict/index.html

August 10, 2018

San Francisco jurors just ruled that that Roundup, the most popular weedkiller in the world, gave a former school groundskeeper terminal cancer.

So they awarded him $289 million in damages -- mostly to punish the agricultural company Monsanto.
Dewayne Johnson's victory Friday could set a massive precedent for thousands of other cases claiming Monsato's famous herbicide causes non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Johnson's case was the first to go to trial because doctors said he was near death. And in California, dying plaintiffs can be granted expedited trials.

...

 

[donnay]

I am against scummy lawyers making lots of money off of victims suffering, but at least it puts the evil into the spot light. Yet somehow people forget that we have Giant Corporations suppressing the scientific evidence over the years and ignoring the victims suffering. IMHO, it is a win to point out the power of these Giant Corporations who think they are untouchable.

Roundup Cancer Study – Published Research
https://www.baumhedlundlaw.com/toxic-tort-law/monsanto-roundup-lawsuit/roundup-cancer-study/

STUDY: Long-term health risks of Monsanto's Roundup revealed
https://independentaustralia.net/li...-term-health-risks-of-monsantos-roundup,11125

Monsanto Alleged to Have Suppressed Roundup Cancer-Link Study
https://www.courthousenews.com/monsanto-alleged-to-have-suppressed-roundup-cancer-link-study/

Hazards of the World’s Most Common Herbicide
https://www.motherearthnews.com/org...-of-worlds-most-common-herbicide-zmaz05onzsel

 

[pcosmar]

How wonderful for them that the judge decreed they aren't limited to just actual proof.

No.. The proof is there..
Monsanto lost because they knew it was deadly and sold it anyway. And they Marketed it as Safe.. and that is Fraud.

 

[donnay]

Oh I forgot to mention how glyphosate is getting into the groundwater. Remember folks, these are the people who created Agent Orange!

Glyphosate Residues in Groundwater, Drinking Water and Urine of Subsistence Farmers from Intensive Agriculture Localities: A Survey in Hopelchén, Campeche, Mexico
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5486281/

Common Weed Killer is Widespread in the Environment
https://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/2014-04-23-glyphosate_2014.html

Glyphosate: This Menace Killed 50% of Rats Tested - But It's Hiding in Your Water, Air and Food
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/...1/10/herbicide-poison-groundwater-supply.aspx

 

[angelatc]

No.. The proof is there..
Monsanto lost because they knew it was deadly and sold it anyway. And they Marketed it as Safe.. and that is Fraud.

Hitchen's Law: Statements with no evidence can be ignored.

Monsanto lost because the trial was in California and a bunch of bleeding heart liberals opted to ignore science.

I can produce over 800 independent studies that failed to find a connection. I can produce evidence that the globalist World Health Organization hid evidence before randomly making their carcinogenic claim.

 

[angelatc]

Oh I forgot to mention how glyphosate is getting into the groundwater. Remember folks, these are the people who created Agent Orange!

Glyphosate Residues in Groundwater, Drinking Water and Urine of Subsistence Farmers from Intensive Agriculture Localities: A Survey in Hopelchén, Campeche, Mexico
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5486281/

Common Weed Killer is Widespread in the Environment
https://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/2014-04-23-glyphosate_2014.html

Glyphosate: This Menace Killed 50% of Rats Tested - But It's Hiding in Your Water, Air and Food
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/...1/10/herbicide-poison-groundwater-supply.aspx

God I fucking hate your posts so much because you fucking never advance the fucking conversation. How many times have we explained parts-per-billion to you? As many times as you choose to ignore us.

Remember folks she couldn't even make it through high school, but now she's dun her reserches on the Google and is a xpert

 

[pcosmar]

Hitchen's Law: Statements with no evidence can be ignored.

Monsanto lost because the trial was in California and a bunch of bleeding heart liberals opted to ignore science.

I can produce over 800 independent studies that failed to find a connection. I can produce evidence that the globalist World Health Organization hid evidence before randomly making their carcinogenic claim.

Do you work for Monsanto? you seem invested in this..like it's personal.

Poison is Poison.. Monsanto produces Poisons.. (and I could give a shit about carcinogenic claims)

 

[donnay]

God I $#@!ing hate your posts so much because you $#@!ing never advance the $#@!ing conversation. How many times have we explained parts-per-billion to you? As many times as you choose to ignore us.

Remember folks she couldn't even make it through high school, but now she's dun her reserches on the Google and is a xpert

And it has been explained to you, HUNDREDS OF TIMES, that part per-billion can cause bioaccumulation in the body to cause long-term health effects.

I cannot even express my disdain for you, because you're just a nasty woman! However, I am replying since you attack and belittle me ALL THE TIME. You're a lot like the Antifa's morons when it comes to Big pHARMA/Chem/Agra. So either you're on their payroll or you're just too ignorant to understand how much harm they have done over the years--I believe the latter is the answer.

 

[donnay]

Monsanto Loses Landmark Case Roundup Weedkiller Case; Jury Awards $289M to Cancer Victim


San Francisco jurors just ruled that that Roundup, the most popular weedkillers worldwide, gave a former school groundskeeper terminal cancer.

The court awarded him $289 million in damages. With one main objective – to punish the agricultural company Monsanto.

Dewayne Johnson’s victory Friday could set a massive precedent for thousands of other cases claiming Monsanto’s famous herbicide causes non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Johnson’s case was the first to go to trial because doctors said he was near death. And in California, dying plaintiffs can be granted expedited trials.

Doctors weren’t sure Johnson would live long enough to see his trial.

“He’s going to live the rest of that time in extreme comfort,” Litzenburg said.

After the verdict, Monsanto issued a statement saying it stands by the studies that suggest Roundup does not cause cancer. (SUCH BULLS**T)

“We will appeal this decision and continue to vigorously defend this product, which has a 40-year history of safe use and continues to be a vital, effective and safe tool for farmers and others,” Monsanto Vice President Scott Partridge said.

But Litzenburg said an appeal would be costly for Monsanto since the company would have to pay interest on the damages while the case is being appealed.

That’s about $25 million a year, he said.

Lesions on his body

Johnson, 46, applied Roundup weedkiller 20 to 30 times per year while working as a groundskeeper for a school district near San Francisco, his attorneys said. He testified that during his work, he had two accidents in which he was soaked with the product. The first accident happened in 2012. Two years later, in 2014, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. On bad days, Johnson is too crippled to speak. lesions cover as much as 80% of his body.

Litzenburg said the most heartbreaking part of Johnson’s testimony was when the father of two described telling his sons that he had terminal cancer. Johnson’s wife now works two 40-hour-per-week jobs to support the family, Litzenburg said.

This verdict proves that when ordinary citizens, in this case, a jury of 12, hear the facts about Monsanto’s products, and the lengths to which this company has gone to buy off scientists, deceive the public and influence government regulatory agencies, there is no confusion,” said Ronnie Cummins, OCA’s international director. “This is a company that has always put profits ahead of public safety, and today, Monsanto has finally been held accountable.

“We hope that this is just the first of many defeats for Monsanto, and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will pull this product off the market immediately. In the meantime, OCA looks forward to the next steps in our own lawsuit against Monsanto, for misleading consumers about the safety of Roundup for humans and pets. And we are grateful to Mr. Johnson for bravely facing down the ‘most evil corporation’ in the world.”

https://thecompleteherbalguide.com/entries/organic/roundup-weedkiller-case/

 

[Danke]

“ the lengths to which this company has gone to buy off scientists”

impossible...

 

[donnay]

Did you know that glyphosate has an antibiotic patent? Does anyone know what antibiotics do to the gut bacteria?

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7771736B2/en

 

[donnay]

Monsanto Paid Internet Trolls to Counter Bad Publicity

December 9, 2018 by IWB

via baumhedlundlaw:

Newly released court documents show that Monsanto has been accused of using third-parties to hire an army of internet trolls to post positive comments on websites and social media about Monsanto, its chemicals and GMOs, and downplay the potential safety risks surrounding the company’s popular glyphosate herbicide.

The unsealed court documents are from the ongoing Monsanto Roundup litigation in Northern California before U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria. The docs were posted by U.S. Right to Know, nonprofit organization working for transparency and accountability in our nation’s food system.

Hundreds of people from California and across the United States have filed Roundup cancer lawsuits against Monsanto, alleging that exposure to Roundup weed killer caused them or their loved ones to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Dozens of these cases were consolidated in a multidistrict litigation (MDL) before Judge Chhabria. Other lawsuits with similar allegations have been filed in several other state courts as well. Roundup cancer attorneys anticipate thousands of people filing suit against Monsanto over the link between Roundup and cancer.

The lawsuits were filed in response to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) report on glyphosate, one of the key ingredients in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide. The report found that glyphosate is a “probable human carcinogen,” and that the cancers most associated with glyphosate exposure are non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other hematopoietic cancers.

The IARC report also found evidence that glyphosate exposure can cause DNA and chromosomal damage in human cells, as well as genotoxic, hormonal and enzymatic effects in mammals.

Monsanto Paid Internet Trolls in ‘Let Nothing Go’ Campaign
According to the court documents, Monsanto started the aptly-named ‘Let Nothing Go’ campaign, which plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Roundup litigation believe is part of the agrochemical giant’s tort defense strategy to work furiously outside the courtroom producing carefully-timed “literature” and regulatory decisions that could sway the court.

The ‘Let Nothing Go’ campaign is designed to leave nothing posted on the internet about Monsanto, its products and GMOs, unanswered. This even applies to social media comments.

“Through a series of third parties, it employs individuals who appear to have no connection to the industry, who in turn post positive comments on news articles and Facebook posts, defending Monsanto, its chemicals, and GMOs,” according to a motion in the Roundup MDL. But the idea that Monsanto paid internet trolls to disagree with negative comments about the company on social media is just the tip of the iceberg.

Monsanto Paid for Pro-Industry ‘Think Tank’ Articles
Monsanto is also accused of funneling money to “think tanks” such as the Genetic Literacy Project and the American Council on Science and Health. These organizations might have the air of legitimacy, but they are “intended to shame scientists and highlight information helpful to Monsanto and other chemical producers,” according to plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Below are a few recent articles posted on Genetic Literacy Project:

WHO’s IARC Cancer Hazard Agency: Can it be reformed or should it be abolished?” (April 18, 2017)
“Is the US Unwittingly Funding Anti-Agriculture and anti-Monsanto Conspiracy Theories?” (April 13, 2017)
“EPA Deserves Some Respect” (March 27, 2017)
And here are a few recent articles posted on the American Council for Science and Health:

“Glyphosate: NYT’s Danny Hakim is Lying to You” (March 15, 2017)
“IARC Has Threatened Us” (April 26, 2017)
“IARC’s Ruling on Glyphosate Ignores the Science” (March 23, 2015)
Both of these organizations share similarities with some of the “institutes” and “academies” that went to bat for the tobacco industry years ago. Neither Genetic Literacy Project nor the American Council for Science and Health lists Monsanto as a donor or supporter, but according to plaintiffs’ attorneys, Monsanto cannot deny that it funds them.

This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Monsanto’s alleged ties to the Genetic Literacy Project. A Bloomberg article from 2015 examined internal emails which showed that Monsanto allegedly requested favorable coverage of GMOs from its scientists.

According to Bloomberg:

“The articles in question appeared on the Genetic Literacy Project’s website in a series called ‘GMO – Beyond the Science.’ Eric Sachs, who leads Monsanto’s scientific outreach, wrote to eight scientists [asking them] to pen a series of briefs aimed at influencing ‘public policy, GM crop regulation and consumer acceptance.”

Five of the scientists took Sachs up on his offer, at which point Sachs sent an email saying he needed to “step aside so I don’t compromise the project.” Sachs provided specific topics for each scientist before the project was turned over to a PR firm paid by Monsanto. “I am keenly aware that your independence and reputations must be protected,” Sachs wrote.

Monsanto tried to downplay its connection to these types of organizations. Charla Lord, a spokesman for Monsanto at the time the Bloomberg article came out, said the company’s goal is to “elevate the public dialog and public policy discussion from its over-emphasis on perceived risks toward a broader understanding of the societal benefits of GM crops and needed improvement in policies … There is a lot of misinformation generated by groups who are opposed to agriculture and biotechnology.”

http://www.investmentwatchblog.com/monsanto-paid-internet-trolls-to-counter-bad-publicity/

 

[Zippyjuan]

Did you know that glyphosate has an antibiotic patent? Does anyone know what antibiotics do to the gut bacteria?

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7771736B2/en

Actually it says it kills parasites- not is an antibiotic.

 

[donnay]

Actually it says it kills parasites- not is an antibiotic.

There are antibiotics classified for parasite infections--that is what they were going for in the patent.

This invention relates to the in vivo use of N-phosphonomethyl glycine, commonly known as glyphosate, or a salt, ester or other derivative thereof, in combination with a dicarboxylic acid or a derivative thereof, for the treatment of pathogenic infections, including infections of mammals by apicomplexan parasites.

 

[Swordsmyth]

Vietnam bans Glyphosate/Roundup, US Agriculture Secretary immediately goes on the attack.

 

[Swordsmyth]

EPA text messages in a Roundup Cancer case show a very cozy relationship with Monsanto/Bayer, devoted to help them control/prevent the classification of Roundup as a toxin/carcinogen.