Monday is another day of rest for opposing sides in the latest Roundup cancer trial – Pilliod V. Monsanto. The plaintiffs in the case, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, are husband and wife and both have non-Hodgkin lymphoma they allege is due to their exposure to Roundup.

Opening statements in the case were delivered to jurors Thursday and the trial is set to resume Tuesday with testimony from plaintiffs’ expert witness Chris Porter a former U.S. government scientist. Portier was a key witness in the first two Roundup cancer trials, both which concluded with large damage awards against Monsanto.

Portier has argued that regulators have incorrectly analyzed glyphosate studies on rodents, and that a correct analysis of the total weight of scientific evidence shows that glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides such as Monsanto’s Roundup can cause cancer.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs have filed a list of exhibits – evidence they plan to present at trial. The list runs more than 280 pages.

Monsanto’s list of exhibits runs more than 130 pages.

During this ‘dark’ day as the lawyers call a day with no court, take a look at my piece in The Guardian that ran over the weekend:

“Amid the uproar of the courtroom scuffles, a larger issue looms: Monsanto’s push to make use of glyphosate herbicides so pervasive that traces are commonly found in our food and even our bodily fluids, is just one example of how several corporate giants are creating lasting human health and environmental woes around the world. Monsanto and its brethren have targeted farmers in particular as a critical market for their herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, and now many farmers around the world believe they cannot farm without them.

Studies show that along with promoting illness and disease in people, these pesticides pushed by Bayer and Monsanto, DowDuPont and other corporate players, are  endangering wildlife, soil health, water quality and the long-term sustainability of food production. Yet regulators have allowed these corporations to combine forces, making them ever more powerful and more able to direct public policies that favor their interests. While Bayer may dole out a few billion dollars in damages, who is really being made to pay? We all are.”