09
Apr
Take Action: Ban Glyphosate, Adopt Organic
(Beyond Pesticides, April 9, 2019) It is time for all local and state governments and school districts to stop the use of glyphosate/Roundup. The last month has seen a level of activity that supports immediate action. A second jury came in with the verdict that the herbicide caused plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) —this time handing the manufacturer, Monsanto/Bayer, a bill for $80 million ($5 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages).
Tell your Governor to act now to stop the use of glyphosate/Roundup.
Insurance companies are now backing away from Roundup. Harrell’s is a company that sells chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and “adjuvants and colorants,” among other products, primarily to golf courses, and to the horticulture-nursery, turf, and landscape sectors. The company announced on March 11 that it stopped selling products containing glyphosate as of March 1, 2019 because neither its current insurance company nor others the company consulted would underwrite coverage for the company for any glyphosate-related claims.
Harrell’s CEO stated: “During our annual insurance renewal last month, we were surprised to learn that our insurance company was no longer willing to provide coverage for claims related to glyphosate due to the recent high-profile lawsuit and the many thousands of lawsuits since. We sought coverage from other companies but could not buy adequate coverage for the risk we would be incurring. So we had no choice other than to notify our Harrell’s Team and customers that we would no longer offer products containing glyphosate.”
The announcement stands in contrast to a Fox Business story shortly after the verdict in the Johnson v. Monsanto case. That article reported, “Top U.S. retailers such as Home Depot, Target, Walmart and Amazon are sticking by Monsanto’s controversial weedkiller Roundup one week after a California jury awarded a school groundskeeper $289 million for proving the spray caused him to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” Indeed, insurer (and perhaps re-insurer) concern may well increase in light of the deluge of lawsuits glyphosate use has triggered.
Meanwhile scientific studies linking glyphosate to serious adverse effects still keep coming in. A recent study by Fabiana Manservisi, Corina Lesseur, et al., published in Environmental Health on March 12, shows glyphosate-based herbicides are associated with endocrine and reproductive effects. This is on top of the scientific findings by the World Health Organization that the chemical probably causes cancer. A meta-study in February 2018 concluded that there is a “compelling link between exposures to GBH [glyphosate-based herbicides] and increased risk of NHL.” Still the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fails to act.
On March 1, the City of Miami established a ban, which went into immediate effect, on the use of any glyphosate-based herbicides (including Roundup compounds) by the city and any of its contractors.
It is time to stop glyphosate use or risk continued exposure to the state’s populations and adverse health effects, along with the financial exposure that the threat of litigation brings.
Beyond Pesticides and other organizations that have worked for many years to educate stakeholders and policy makers about the dangers of pesticides, stand ready to assist the state and communities in transforming pest management by eliminating a reliance on toxic pesticides and adopting organic management practices.
Tell your Governor to act now to stop the use of glyphosate/Roundup.
Letter to Your Governor:
It is time for all local and state governments and school districts to stop the use of glyphosate/Roundup. The last month has seen a level of activity that supports immediate action. A second jury came in with the verdict that the herbicide caused plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) —this time handing the manufacturer, Monsanto/Bayer, a bill for $80 million ($5 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages).
Insurance companies are now backing away from Roundup. Harrell’s is a company that sells chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and “adjuvants and colorants,” among other products, primarily to golf courses, and to the horticulture-nursery, turf, and lt is time for all local and state governments and school districts to stop the use of glyphosate/Roundup. The last month has seen a level of activity that supports immediate action. A second jury came in with the verdict that the herbicide caused plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) —this time handing the manufacturer, Monsanto/Bayer, a bill for $80 million ($5 million in compensatory damages and $75 million in punitive damages).
Insurance companies are now backing away from Roundup. Harrell’s is a company that sells chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and other products, primarily to golf courses and the horticulture-nursery, turf, and landscape sectors. The company announced on March 11 that it stopped selling products containing glyphosate as of March 1, 2019 because neither its current insurance company nor others Harrell’s consulted would underwrite coverage for any glyphosate-related claims.
Harrell’s CEO stated: “During our annual insurance renewal last month, we were surprised to learn that our insurance company was no longer willing to provide coverage for claims related to glyphosate due to the recent high-profile lawsuit and the many thousands of lawsuits since. We sought coverage from other companies but could not buy adequate coverage for the risk we would be incurring. So we had no choice other than to notify our Harrell’s Team and customers that we would no longer offer products containing glyphosate.”
Concern has increased since a Fox Business story shortly after the verdict in the Johnson v. Monsanto case, which reported, “Top U.S. retailers such as Home Depot, Target, Walmart and Amazon are sticking by Monsanto’s controversial weedkiller Roundup one week after a California jury awarded a school groundskeeper $289 million for proving the spray caused him to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” Indeed, insurer (and perhaps re-insurer) concern may well increase in light of the deluge of lawsuits glyphosate use has triggered.
Meanwhile scientific studies linking glyphosate to serious adverse effects still keep coming in. A recent study published in Environmental Health on March 12, shows glyphosate-based herbicides are associated with endocrine and reproductive effects. This is on top of the scientific findings by the World Health Organization that the chemical probably causes cancer. A meta-study in February 2018 concluded that there is a “compelling link between exposures to GBH [glyphosate-based herbicides] and increased risk of NHL.” Still the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fails to act.
On March 1, the City of Miami established an immediate ban on the use of any glyphosate-based herbicides by the city and any of its contractors.
It is time to stop glyphosate use or risk continued exposure to the state’s populations and adverse health effects, along with the financial exposure that the threat of litigation brings.
Beyond Pesticides and other organizations that have worked for many years to educate stakeholders and policy makers about the dangers of pesticides, stand ready to assist the state and communities in transforming pest management by eliminating a reliance on toxic pesticides and adopting organic management practices.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
“The Fight Against Monsanto’s Roundup, The Politics of Pesticides by Mitchel Cohen…as must read.
April 15th, 2019 at 5:54 pm