Area
United States of America
Commodity Group
Oilseeds, oils and meals
Commodity
Glyphosate
Date
01/03/2019
Policy Category
Other
Policy Instrument
Pesticide use
Description
Courts reviewing a new case linking the use of glyphosate to cancer ruled that the pesticide had been a substantial factor in causing human cancer.
Notes
In March, a federal court reviewing a new case linking the use of glyphosate to cancer found that the pesticide had been a substantial factor in causing the disease and determined compensatory damages to be paid by the products manufacturer (see also MPPU Dec.18 on an earlier case). Subsequently, in April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reaffirmed that there are no risks to public health when the herbicide is used in accordance to its current label and that glyphosate is not carcinogenic. On ecological grounds, however, the agency recommended management measures to i) ensure applications are properly targeted, and ii) reduce weed resistance problems, given that the number of weeds showing resistance to glyphosate is growing rapidly.
