By DAVID A. LIEB
In a victory for world agrochemical maker Bayer, Georgia has turn out to be the second state to defend pesticide producers from some lawsuits claiming that they didn’t warn prospects of potential risks.
The laws signed Friday by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is designed to guard Bayer from lawsuits claiming that it failed to inform prospects that its well-liked weed killer Roundup may trigger most cancers. It’s written broadly sufficient to supply authorized safety in Georgia to any pesticide producer that follows federal labeling necessities.
North Dakota’s governor signed the primary such regulation final month, and related measures have been thought-about this yr in at the very least 9 different states.
Bayer, primarily based in Germany, acquired Roundup with the 2018 buy of St. Louis-based Monsanto. But it surely shortly was hit with an onslaught of lawsuits alleging that Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate, causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Greater than 67,000 of a complete 181,000 claims involving Roundup stay excellent, however a Bayer spokesperson mentioned Monday that he didn’t have specifics about what number of of these are in Georgia.
Although some research affiliate glyphosate with most cancers, the U.S. Environmental Safety Company has mentioned it’s not more likely to be carcinogenic to people when used as directed.
Bayer insists glyphosate is secure. But it surely has stopped utilizing the ingredient in its residential model of Roundup and has put aside $16 billion to settle instances. It continues to make use of glyphosate in its agricultural model of Roundup however has warned that it might need to cease doing so if the authorized prices preserve mounting.
The brand new Georgia regulation is to take impact Jan. 1. Meaning it gained’t impact present instances, similar to a March resolution by a Georgia jury to award practically $2.1 billion in damages to a person who alleged Roundup precipitated his most cancers.
Glyphosate has for many years been used an environment friendly method to management weeds with much less tilling, which helps stop soil erosion. For some crops, similar to corn, soybeans and cotton, Roundup is designed to work with genetically modified seeds that resist glyphosate’s lethal impact.
With out glyphosate, weeds may turn out to be tougher to manage, crop yields may decline and groceries may turn out to be extra pricey, Bayer mentioned.
The brand new regulation “demonstrates that Georgia stands with its farmers, who work tirelessly to produce safe and affordable food,” mentioned Brian Naber, president of Bayer’s crop sciences in North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Initially Printed: Could 12, 2025 at 12:01 PM EDT
