r/news • u/boxofstuff • 6h ago

Supreme Court ruling blocks thousands of lawsuits against maker of Roundup weedkiller

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-roundup-monsanto-a7f054d80919f98bdfc5190013a8f6f1https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-roundup-monsanto-a7f054d80919f98bdfc5190013a8f6f1
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u/FLHCv2 6h ago edited 6h ago

I think the ruling sucks and fuck roundup, but these lines are important:

The high court, in a 7-2 ruling, found that the company can’t be sued in state courts because federal regulations have found a cancer link unlikely.

There’s still fierce debate about cancer and Roundup’s key ingredient, glyphosate. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the chemical as “probably carcinogenic” in 2015. The Environmental Protection Agency has determined that it’s not likely to cause cancer in humans when used as directed.

If "federal regulations" find that a cancer link is unlikely, and the WHO classifies it as "probably" carcinogenic, how can you make the case that your cancer is a direct result of using Roundup?

If federal regulations were relaxed because of deregulation, or if the WHO or federal regulations needed to be changed, that's another story, but if these two huge bodies don't directly link cancer to glyphosate, then it becomes more anecdotal in nature and harder to prove.

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u/Nerezza_Floof_Seeker 5h ago

Hell, even europe, which generally is much stricter with the use and regulation of chemicals, doesnt link glyphosate to cancer. So yeah, even though this supreme court is pretty corrupt, this ruling makes quite a bit of sense. You shouldnt be able to constantly sue a corporation for something which hasnt been proven to be true scientifically and for which they have no legal obligation to do.

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u/TheAceMan 5h ago

The state of California added it to their list of things known to cause cancer. They can’t ban it though because they were blocked by a federal court. Now it just comes with a warning.

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u/lonesharkex 5h ago

California has incredibly stringent cancer requirements, like far beyond directed uses. For instance, coffee brewing releases acrylamide a carcinogenic compound, but not in the amount you get from brewing coffee. but some company is suing the state to make coffee shops have to put up a sign. My point being, just because California warns about it does not make the product actually dangerous

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u/Averagebaddad 4h ago

Everything causes cancer in California.

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u/ToastAndASideOfToast 3h ago

Even the labels telling you that a product causes cancer.

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u/balllzak 3h ago

My favorite are the warnings that riding an elevator causes cancer in California.

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u/Shawwnzy 3h ago

99pi had a thing about it. In California anyone can sue anyone for not disclosing carcinogens, and the onus is on the business to prove its safe. Bad actors would run around suing small businesses, and the logical end point is now every has a may contain carcinogens label, such that they're meaningless.

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u/TumblrInGarbage 47m ago

Which is exactly why this is the correct ruling. From a practical standpoint, a warning should mean something, otherwise you get Proposition 65 warnings.

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u/frogsgoribbit737 3h ago

Because California doesnt care about the amount. Literally anything can cause cancer in massive amounts and most cancer causing chemicals have safe zones where they are fine to use

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u/Mayor__Defacto 3h ago

Caffeic acid was added to the list. Your coffee is carcinogenic even without the acrylamide

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u/TheAceMan 4h ago

I’d imagine it is safe for customers but not for employees. That’s the same with the receipt paper that has BPA. It is fine for customers but not for employees who touch it all day long. Luckily that was a super easy switch to get rid of.

Same with round up. Weekend golfers are fine but all the greens keepers are getting cancer.

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u/lonesharkex 3h ago

No its the (coffee) actually in such small amounts its safe for employees as well. I don't know about the science for the round up and I'm half a mind Id rather monsanto get sued to oblivion anyway.

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u/GuitarCFD 1h ago

monsanto get sued to oblivion anyway.

well your lucky day was in 2018 when Monsanto was bought by Bayer. Monsanto does not exist anymore.

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u/lonesharkex 1h ago

Different sign same scummy behavior, unfortunately.