Weedkiller manufacturer seeks lawmakers’ help to squelch claims it failed to warn about cancer

DES MOINES, Iowa — Incentivized by paying billions of dollars in settlements and lawsuits, chemical giant Bayer is lobbying lawmakers in three states to pass bills that would give the company a legal shield against lawsuits claiming its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.

Nearly identical bills introduced this year in Iowa, Missouri and Idaho — with language provided by Bayer — would protect pesticide companies from claims that they failed to warn that their product causes cancer if their labels otherwise complied with U.S. Environmental regulations Protection Agency.

But legal experts warn the legislation could have broader implications — extending to any product liability claim or, in the case of Iowa, providing immunity from lawsuits of any kind. Critics say the disease could spread across the country.

“It’s just not good government to give a company immunity for things they don’t tell their consumers,” said Matt Clement, a lawyer from Jefferson City, Missouri, who represents people suing Bayer. “If they’re able to get this through, in Missouri I think they’ll try to do this across the country.

Bayer described the legislation as one strategy to address the “headwinds” it faces. About 167,000 legal claims against Bayer allege that Roundup causes a form of cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which Bayer disputes. The company has won some cases, settled many others, but has also suffered several losses with juries returning large initial verdicts. It has paid out about $10 billion, while thousands of claims remain pending in court.

Although some studies link Roundup’s main ingredient to cancer, the EPA has regularly concluded that it is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans.

The cost of “defending a safe, approved product” is unsustainable, said Jess Christiansen, head of communications for Bayer’s crop sciences department.

The legislation has been introduced in targeted states critical to Bayer’s Roundup business and is at a different stage in each state. It passed the Iowa Senate, awaits debate in the Missouri House and was defeated in Idaho, where this year’s legislative session ended.

Farmers rely heavily on Roundup, which was introduced fifty years ago as a more efficient way to control weeds and reduce tillage and soil erosion. For crops like corn, soybeans and cotton, it is designed to work with genetically modified seeds that can withstand the lethal effect of Roundup.

Missouri state Rep. Dane Diehl, a farmer who worked with Bayer to sponsor the legislation, expressed concern that costly lawsuits could force Bayer to pull Roundup from the U.S. market, leaving farmers dependent on alternative chemicals from China.

“Ultimately, this product is a tool that we need,” said Diehl, a Republican.

Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in an email that the legislation maintains the integrity of the regulatory process and that without it, “Iowa is at risk of losing hundreds of jobs” in Muscatine, an eastern Iowa city where Roundup is mainly produced.

The Associated Press is seeking public records of Bayer’s communications with Reynolds’ office.

Bayer, like other companies, hires lobbyists in states to represent its interests. The company supports this legislation in states where “we have a large, direct economic impact,” Christiansen said.

Roundup’s main ingredient, glyphosate, is derived from phosphate mined in Idaho. And St. Louis is the headquarters of the North American crop science division, acquired in the 2018 purchase of Monsanto. That’s why many of the lawsuits are being filed in Missouri.

The five lobbyists registered for Bayer in Iowa and three in Idaho are largely consistent with recent years, but the number working in Missouri this year rose from four to nine. Lobbyist spending exceeded $8,000 in Idaho this year; similar information was not available in Iowa or Missouri.

Led by Bayer, a coalition of agricultural organizations called Modern Ag Alliance is also spending tens of thousands of dollars on radio and print ads claiming that lawsuits and lawsuits threaten the availability of glyphosate.

On its website, the group claims that 500 jobs related to glyphosate production in Iowa, and 800 jobs in Idaho, are at risk.

Bayer quit before threats of closures were made. The facilities in Iowa, including in Muscatine, “are very critical facilities to our business, so we will remain at some level of support,” Christiansen said.

The lawsuits and legislation focus on the way Bayer – and any other pesticide company – communicates with consumers about the safety of its products.

Companies are required to register products with the EPA, which evaluates a pesticide and its label—and then reevaluates it every fifteen years. The EPA reiterated in 2020 that glyphosate used as directed poses no health risks to humans. But a federal appeals court panel ruled in 2022 that the decision was “not supported by substantial evidence” and ordered the EPA to investigate further.

The debate over glyphosate escalated when a 2015 report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, said it is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” based on “limited” evidence of cancer in humans and “sufficient” evidence from research. animals.

Based on that international report, California sought to add a cancer warning label to products containing glyphosate. But a federal appeals court ruled against California last November, concluding that such a warning was not factual.

Christiansen emphasized that many regulators worldwide agree with the EPA and urged that Bayer must adhere to EPA labeling to ensure that false or misleading information is not provided. She added that the company is transparent in the information it provides.

Critics of the legislation remain unconvinced, citing examples such as opioids and asbestos that were considered safe for use as prescribed – until they weren’t.

There are also concerns that the legislation could stifle any product liability claims because most rely on the argument that a company failed to warn, said Andrew Mertens, executive director of the Iowa Association for Justice, a trial attorney organization.

Jonathan Cardi, a product liability and tort expert at Wake Forest University School of Law, also said that a strict reading of Iowa law goes beyond liability claims, and “the way it is drafted makes it so interpretable that no one can file a lawsuit.”

Lobbying lawmakers and speaking to the AP, Bayer representatives disputed that the legislation would cut off other legal actions. Several legal experts said the legislation is unlikely to impact the 18,000 lawsuits already pending in Missouri’s capital, Jefferson City, and will not prevent similar claims in states that do not pass similar legislation.

In Idaho, the Republican-led Senate narrowly rejected the bill, amid concerns about relying on federal agencies’ safety standards and limiting injured individuals’ ability to sue.

John Gilbert, who farms in Iowa Falls, Iowa, with limited use of Roundup, called Republicans hypocritical for trying to protect corporate interests after campaigning to stand up for Iowans.

The bill “invites a lot of reckless disregard,” said Gilbert, who sits on the board of the Iowa Farmers Union. “No amount of perfume can make it anything other than a skunk.”

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Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri.