In a landmark decision, a Philadelphia jury awards $2.25 billion in a lawsuit linking Roundup weed killer to cancer, marking a significant turn in ongoing litigation.
MaryClaire Dale reports for the Associated Press.
In short:
- A Philadelphia jury awarded $2.25 billion to a plaintiff who developed blood cancer linked to Roundup, a weed killer.
- Bayer, Monsanto's parent company, faces thousands of similar lawsuits despite claiming Roundup's safety and removing glyphosate from consumer products.
- The verdict is part of a trend of large awards in such cases, although Bayer continues to challenge the link between glyphosate and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Key quote:
"They try to show that non-Hodgkin lymphoma is just something that happens randomly. (But) the arc of the scientific literature has turned against Monsanto in the past seven years."
— Tom Kline, lawyer who represented the Philadelphia plaintiff
Why this matters:
This verdict highlights the tension between scientific studies and corporate interests, a crucial issue for understanding the impact of everyday products on our health.
Q&A: Fighting for justice against cancer-causing weed killer.
