A new first-of-its-kind law enacted in North Dakota could shield agrochemical manufacturer Bayer from lawsuits claiming it failed to warn customers that its popular weedkiller Roundup could cause cancer.
Though the immediate effect may be small, given that North Dakota is among the least populated U.S. states, Bayer is hopeful that success there could lead to similar laws being passed around the country. The company faces an onslaught of lawsuits seeking billions of dollars for alleged harm from Roundup. The next state to follow North Dakota could be Georgia, where a similar bill is pending before Gov. Brian Kemp.
Bayer, based in Germany, acquired Roundup with the 2018 purchase of St. Louis-based Monsanto. It contends glyphosate, an active ingredient in Roundup, has for decades provided a safe and efficient way to control weeds with less tilling, which helps prevent soil erosion. For crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton, Roundup is designed to work with genetically modified seeds that resist glyphosate's deadly effect.
“Without crop protection tools, America’s consumers could face higher costs to provide for their families and put food on the table,” Brian Naber, Bayer’s president of crop science for North America, Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement praising the North Dakota law.
North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong declined to comment Thursday about the legislation, which he signed without fanfare a day earlier.
Bayer has been hit with about 181,000 legal claims alleging that Roundup's key ingredient, glyphosate, causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Though some studies associate glyphosate with cancer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said it is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans when used as directed.
Bayer, which disputes the cancer claims, has teamed with a coalition of agricultural groups to back legislation in at least 11 states this year seeking to undercut the main argument made in the lawsuits. The bills declare that a federally approved label on pesticides is sufficient to satisfy any duty under state law to warn customers. Bayer also has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the legal claims.
Many agricultural industry groups contend glyphosate is an essential tool for farmers. They're concerned that mounting legal costs could lead Bayer to pull the product from the U.S. market.
The North Dakota law, which will take effect Aug. 1, “is a resounding win for farmers” and “sets the standard for states across America to pass legislation," said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, executive director of the Modern Ag Alliance, which Bayer helps finance.
Though prompted by lawsuits against Bayer, the North Dakota legislation would apply more broadly to other pesticides with federally approved labels.
“Ultimately, this sets a bad precedent,” said Sam Wagner, an agriculture and food organizer for the Dakota Resource Council, which opposed the measure. "It will arguably make it extremely tough for anyone to win a case” filed in North Dakota against a pesticide manufacturer.
As President Donald Trump's administration seeks to rollback federal regulations, new state laws that limit court claims could leave some people without any avenue to seek compensation for their injuries and losses, said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for an end to toxic pesticides.
“The chemical companies should not be able to hide behind a weak regulatory system," Feldman said.
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This story has been corrected to fix the name of the Dakota Resource Council. It is not the Dakota Research Council. ___
Associated Press reporter Jack Dura contributed to this report.
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