Nina Fedoroff: Mobilizing the authority of American science to back Monsanto

Nina Fedoroff, PhD, is one of the most influential scientists advocating for the proliferation and deregulation of genetically engineered foods. As president and board chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) from 2011-2013, she used her position to advance policy objectives of the pesticide and biotechnology industries.  In 2015, Dr. Fedoroff ... Nina Fedoroff: Mobilizing the authority of American science to back Monsanto

Bayer Internal Emails Says Seeks to “Regain Public Trust” Amid Monsanto Mess

With legal and shareholder pressure mounting, Bayer AG on Thursday was preparing to launch an initiative to “regain public trust” after its acquisition last year of Monsanto Co. brought Bayer thousands of lawsuits filed by cancer victims and damning revelations of corporate deception surrounding years of health concerns about Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup herbicides. The plan ... Bayer Internal Emails Says Seeks to “Regain Public Trust” Amid Monsanto Mess

A Matter of Fact – Professor Refuses to Correct Errors in New Scientific Paper Finding Problems with Glyphosate

(UPDATED June 5 with comment from Scientific Reports) The authors of a newly published paper examining the impacts of exposure to the world’s most widely used herbicide declared some shocking news. The team from Washington State University found that descendants of rats exposed to the chemical glyphosate developed prostate, kidney and ovarian diseases, obesity and ... A Matter of Fact – Professor Refuses to Correct Errors in New Scientific Paper Finding Problems with Glyphosate

Our Investigations

U.S. Right to Know is a nonprofit investigative public health research and journalism group working globally to expose corporate wrongdoing and government failures that threaten our health, environment and food system. Since 2015, we have obtained, posted and reported on thousands of industry and government documents, including many acquired through judicial enforcement of open records ... Our Investigations

Trial in Monsanto’s Hometown Set for August After $2 Billion Verdict

This article was originally published in Environmental Health News. By Carey Gillam After three stunning courtroom losses in California, the legal battle over the safety of Monsanto’s top-selling Roundup herbicide is headed for the company’s hometown, where corporate officials can be forced to appear on the witness stand, and legal precedence shows a history of ... Trial in Monsanto’s Hometown Set for August After $2 Billion Verdict

Monsanto Ordered to Pay $2 Billion to Cancer Victims

After less than two full days of deliberations, a California jury ordered Monsanto to pay just over $2 billion in punitive and compensatory damages to a married couple who both developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma they say was caused by their many years of using Roundup products. After listening to 17 days of trial testimony, jurors said ... Monsanto Ordered to Pay $2 Billion to Cancer Victims

White House Has “Monsanto’s Back on Pesticides,” Newly Revealed Document Says

Internal Monsanto records just filed in court show that a corporate intelligence group hired to “to take the temperature on current regulatory attitudes for glyphosate” reported that the White House could be counted on to defend the company’s Roundup herbicides. In a  report  attached to a July 2018 email to Monsanto global strategy official Todd ... White House Has “Monsanto’s Back on Pesticides,” Newly Revealed Document Says

Praise & Polo Shirts – More Evidence of Scientific Influence Seen in Newly Released Monsanto Papers

(UPDATED April 30, 2019 with new documents) Newly released internal Monsanto records show fresh evidence of the measures the company has taken to influence scientific literature as part of a strategic defense of the safety of its line of weed killers best known by the brand name Roundup. Some evidence of what Monsanto’s own scientists ... Praise & Polo Shirts – More Evidence of Scientific Influence Seen in Newly Released Monsanto Papers

Glyphosate spin check: Tracking claims about the most widely used herbicide

Amid global debate over the safety of glyphosate-based herbicides such as Monsanto’s Roundup, numerous claims have been made to defend the product’s safety. In the wake of two recent landmark jury rulings that found Roundup to be a substantial factor in causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma, we examined some of these claims and fact-checked them for accuracy. ... Glyphosate spin check: Tracking claims about the most widely used herbicide

New Monsanto documents expose cozy connection to Reuters reporter

We knew from previously released documents that Reuters reporter Kate Kelland was a key connection for Monsanto in its endeavor to undermine and discredit the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) scientists who classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen in 2015. Now we have additional evidence of the coziness of the ... New Monsanto documents expose cozy connection to Reuters reporter

Monsanto Comes Out Swinging in Appeal of Johnson Verdict

In a new court filing, Monsanto has laid out a long list of reasons California’s appeals court should overturn a $78.5 million damage award issued against the company and its German owner Bayer AG last summer in the first Roundup cancer case to go to trial. That case, Johnson v. Monsanto, ended with a $289 ... Monsanto Comes Out Swinging in Appeal of Johnson Verdict

NYC Leaders Join Calls for Ban on Monsanto Herbicide

This article was originally published in Environmental Health News . “Parks should be for playing not pesticides” By Carey Gillam Two New York City council members introduced legislation today that would ban city agencies from spraying glyphosate-based herbicides and other toxic pesticides in parks and other public spaces. The move is the latest in a ... NYC Leaders Join Calls for Ban on Monsanto Herbicide

Read the emails, texts that show EPA efforts to slow ATSDR glyphosate review

Update: The ATSDR published their draft toxicological profile for glyphosate in April 2019. See coverage:  ATSDR Report Confirms Glyphosate Cancer Risks,  NRDC (4.11.2019);  Some Links to Cancer Shown in Draft Review of Common Pesticide, Bloomberg (4.8.2019);  Emails Show Monsanto Cozy with Feds,  Courthouse News (4.15.2019). This article by Carey Gillam was originally published in Huffington ... Read the emails, texts that show EPA efforts to slow ATSDR glyphosate review

Judge Makes Official Order for Bayer Mediation With Cancer Victims

After a week of behind-the-scenes discussions, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria has issued a formal order of mediation  to seek a settlement between Bayer AG and lawyers representing thousands of cancer victims who are suing Monsanto alleging their exposure to the company’s Roundup herbicide caused their illnesses. Bayer, which bought Monsanto in June of last ... Judge Makes Official Order for Bayer Mediation With Cancer Victims

Bayer Makes Bid for “Trust” Amid Third Monsanto Cancer Trial

Bayer AG, which bought Monsanto last summer, said Monday that it was making scientific studies available for public scrutiny in an effort to counter growing concerns about the safety of Monsanto’s flagship glyphosate-based herbicide products. “Transparency is a catalyst for trust, so more transparency is a good thing for consumers, policymakers and businesses,  Liam Condon, ... Bayer Makes Bid for “Trust” Amid Third Monsanto Cancer Trial

Monsanto relied on these ‘partners’ to attack top cancer scientists

In a confidential public relations plan dated February 2015, Monsanto laid out is plans to discredit the World Health Organization’s cancer research unit, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A month later, the international group of experts judged glyphosate — the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer — to be probably carcinogenic ... Monsanto relied on these ‘partners’ to attack top cancer scientists

Who Is Paying for Monsanto’s Crimes? We Are

This article was originally published in The Guardian. By Carey Gillam The chickens are coming home to roost, as they say in farm country. For the second time in less than eight months a US jury has found that decades of scientific evidence demonstrates a clear cancer connection to Monsanto’s line of top-selling Roundup herbicides, ... Who Is Paying for Monsanto’s Crimes? We Are

Newsweek Gets Ad Money from Bayer, Prints Op-Eds That Help Bayer

Newsweek failed to disclose the chemical industry connections of two opinion writers who argued today in an op-ed  that glyphosate can’t be regulated. The commentary by Henry I. Miller and Stuart Smyth, both of whom have ties to Monsanto that were not disclosed in the piece, appeared soon after a federal jury handed cancer victim ... Newsweek Gets Ad Money from Bayer, Prints Op-Eds That Help Bayer

Verdict Is In – Monsanto Must Pay Cancer Victim $80 Million

(Transcript of today’s proceedings) (See exclusive video interview with plaintiff Edwin Hardeman and his attorneys) The second Roundup cancer trial concluded Wednesday with a unanimous jury verdict that ordered Monsanto to pay roughly $80 million in damages for failing to warn plaintiff Edwin Hardeman of the cancer risks of Roundup herbicide. The jury verdict included ... Verdict Is In – Monsanto Must Pay Cancer Victim $80 Million

Monsanto Exec Reveals $17 Million Budget For Anti-IARC, Pro-Glyphosate Efforts

How badly did Monsanto want to discredit international cancer scientists who found the company’s glyphosate herbicide to be a probable human carcinogen and promote a counter message of  glyphosate safety instead? Badly enough to allocate about $17 million for the mission, in just one year alone,  according to evidence obtained by lawyers representing cancer victims ... Monsanto Exec Reveals $17 Million Budget For Anti-IARC, Pro-Glyphosate Efforts

Trimmed-Down Testimony as Monsanto Cancer Trial Winds Down

(Transcript of today’s proceedings)  Lawyers for Edwin Hardeman have substantially cut down the number of witnesses and evidence to present to jurors who must decide if Monsanto and its new owner Bayer are liable for Hardeman’s development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma after years of use of Monsanto’s Roundup. They have but a few hours left allotted ... Trimmed-Down Testimony as Monsanto Cancer Trial Winds Down

Weed Killer Residues Found in 98 Percent of Canadian Honey Samples

Study is the latest evidence that glyphosate herbicides are so pervasive that residues can be found in foods not produced by farmers using glyphosate. This article was originally published in Environmental Health News. By Carey Gillam As U.S. regulators continue to dance around the issue of testing foods for residues of glyphosate weed killers, government ... Weed Killer Residues Found in 98 Percent of Canadian Honey Samples

Cancer Victim Headed Back to the Stand

( Transcript of today’s proceedings) Plaintiff Edwin Hardeman took the stand today to offer more testimony in his lawsuit against Monsanto over claims his use of the company’s Roundup herbicide caused him to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Hardeman already testified in the first phase of the trial, which drew a unanimous jury verdict finding that Roundup ... Cancer Victim Headed Back to the Stand

Dark Day – Lawyers and Jurors Get a Break

Jury members and legal counsel for the parties in Hardeman V. Monsanto were taking a break on Thursday as Judge Vince Chhabria handles other calendar items, including a motion in a separate lawsuit against Monsanto. The trial resumes Friday morning, with closing arguments expected by the middle of next week. With the day off today, ... Dark Day – Lawyers and Jurors Get a Break

As Jury Deliberates, a New Study Shows Cancer Links to Glyphosate

Jurors will continue deliberating today, while lawyers for both sides were busy preparing for a second phase in the event the jury finds for plaintiff Edwin Hardeman in this first phase. As part of the preparation, lawyers for both sides have been jockeying over many issues, including what witnesses will and will not be allowed ... As Jury Deliberates, a New Study Shows Cancer Links to Glyphosate

Jurors Want to Hear From Plaintiff Again

Today marks the beginning of the fourth week of the Hardeman V. Monsanto Roundup cancer trial, and jurors were still deliberating over the sole question that they must answer to close out the first phase of the trial and potentially move into the second phase. The six jurors let Judge Vince Chhabria know on Friday ... Jurors Want to Hear From Plaintiff Again

Google Ads Raise Concerns About Geofencing

(UPDATE 3:30 pm Pacific time- Jurors retiring for the day after failing again to reach a verdict. Testimony from plaintiff Edwin Hardeman to be read back to jurors Monday morning at their request. Judge Chhabria remains irritated with plaintiff’s attorneys, annoyed at the time it took them to arrive at court Friday afternoon.) Jurors were ... Google Ads Raise Concerns About Geofencing

Trial & Jury Day Off

Jurors have the day off today but the lawyers do not. Chhabria is holding a hearing with attorneys for both sides at 12:30 pm Pacific time to discuss the scope of the second phase, if a second phase is held. Among the issues to be discussed, plaintiff’s lawyers are renewing their request to be able ... Trial & Jury Day Off

Jury Deliberating

(Video update) (UPDATE 5:45 p.m. Pacific time – Jury has retired for the evening with no verdict. Deliberations to resume Friday.) Judge Chhabria instructed lawyers for both sides to be ready to present opening statements for the second phase of the trial today if jurors come back this morning with a verdict. The second phase ... Jury Deliberating

Concerns over Judge’s Jury Instructions

(Transcript from today’s proceedings) (UPDATE, 3 p.m. Pacific Time – Closing arguments are completed. The jury has received instructions for deliberations.) Closing arguments got underway Tuesday. With the first phase of Hardeman V. Monsanto winding down plaintiff Edwin Hardeman’s attorneys issued a strong objection to Judge Vince Chhabria’s plans for instructing the jury about how ... Concerns over Judge’s Jury Instructions

Hepatitis C and… Hugh Grant?

(See video update here) (Transcript from today’s proceedings) Monsanto’s legal team on Monday presented testimony from Dr. Alexandra Levine, a hematologist/oncologist with City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, seeking to convince the jury that exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides was not a cause of Hardeman’s cancer, and that a more likely factor is the hepatitis C ... Hepatitis C and… Hugh Grant?

Phase 1 Nears End, Judge Ponders Jury Instructions

(Transcript from today’s proceedings) Lawyers for plaintiff Edwin Hardeman rested their case on Friday, giving Monsanto a turn to put on its own witnesses in this first phase of the case. Judge Chhabria has indicated he would like to see the first phase of the trial wrapped up by early next week, and he has ... Phase 1 Nears End, Judge Ponders Jury Instructions

Geoffrey Kabat’s ties to tobacco and chemical industry groups

Geoffrey Kabat, PhD, is a cancer epidemiologist and author of two books arguing that that health hazards of pesticides, electromagnetic fields, secondhand tobacco smoke and other environmental exposures are “greatly overblown.” He is often quoted in the press as an independent expert on cancer risk. Reporters who use Dr. Kabat as a source should be ... Geoffrey Kabat’s ties to tobacco and chemical industry groups

Judge Has Harsh Words for Monsanto

Judge Vince Chhabria  issued a stinging response  to Monsanto’s motion for summary judgment on Thursday, stating in his order that there was plenty of evidence that the company’s glyphosate herbicides – namely Roundup – could have caused plaintiff Edwin Hardeman’s cancer.  “To take just one example,” the judge wrote, “the De Roos (2003) study supports ... Judge Has Harsh Words for Monsanto

No Trial Today, But a Story About the Last Trial

(UPDATE: The parties settled their litigation out of court in November 2019.) The historic win last summer of California groundskeeper Dewayne “Lee” Johnson over Monsanto and its new owner Bayer made news around the world and made some of Johnson’s attorneys virtual celebrities in legal circles, garnering them awards and international notoriety. But behind the ... No Trial Today, But a Story About the Last Trial

Nearing the End of the First Phase

(Transcript from today’s  proceedings) Expert witness for the plaintiff Dr. Dennis Weisenburger was being cross examined Wednesday by Monsanto attorneys after extensive direct testimony for cancer victim Edwin Hardeman. Hardeman’s attorneys said they were nearing the end of the first phase of presenting their case. Weisenburger, a pathologist specializing in studying the causes of non-Hodgkin ... Nearing the End of the First Phase

Hardeman to Testify, Sick Juror or Not

(Transcript from today’s proceedings) After a break in testimony Monday due to a sick juror, cancer victim Edwin Hardeman is slated to take the stand today in the ongoing Roundup cancer trial in federal court in San Francisco. His testimony is expected to take less than an hour. Judge Chhabria indicated the trial will proceed ... Hardeman to Testify, Sick Juror or Not

Cancer Victim to Take the Stand (Not.)

(Transcript from today’s proceedings) Plaintiff Edwin Hardeman was scheduled to take the stand today along with expert witness Dennis Weisenburger, professor of the Pathology Department of the City of Hope Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. But one juror apparently is too ill to endure the long trial day so testimony is being postponed. Weisenburger, who ... Cancer Victim to Take the Stand (Not.)

Something to Chew On

(Transcript from today’s proceedings) Here is an interesting tidbit to chew on over the weekend. In light of Judge Vince Chhabria’s unusual handling of the first Roundup cancer lawsuit to come to trial in federal court, (see previous entries for bifurcation and other background) and the vitriol with which he has been addressing plaintiff Edwin ... Something to Chew On

Trial Takes a Day Off

Thursdays are ‘dark’ days for the Roundup cancer trial, meaning lawyers, jurors and witnesses have a day to catch their breath and regroup. And after the fast and furious first three days of the trial, they probably can use the break. After losing another juror on Wednesday morning, the trial proceeded with the testimony of ... Trial Takes a Day Off

Judicial Threats and Judge Jokes

(UPDATE – Another juror has just been dismissed. One of the seven women jurors has been dismissed in morning proceedings. That leaves one man and six women. A total of six jurors are required and all must be unanimous in their verdict.) As day three opens in the first federal trial over claims that Monsanto’s ... Judicial Threats and Judge Jokes

Reporting From Court

Documents from Day 1 in the Hardeman trial are posted here. See Transcript of proceedings. See  Plaintiff’s Opening Slide Deck  and  Monsanto’s Opening Slide Deck 3:30 p.m. –Jury is dismissed by judge but lawyers in Roundup cancer trial still discussing how evidence can or can’t be used. He’s still furious over plaintiff’s lawyer Aimee Wagstaff daring ... Reporting From Court

Last-Minute Moves

With less than a week to go before opening statements in the Feb. 25 federal civil trial over accusations that Monsanto’s glyphosate-based weed killers cause cancer, lawyers for both sides were readying for jury selection that starts Wednesday. In pre-trial proceedings lawyers for plaintiff Edwin Hardeman and the legal team representing Monsanto, now a unit ... Last-Minute Moves

Evidence and Issues

With the high-stakes, first federal Roundup cancer trial fast approaching on Feb. 25, lawyers for Monsanto – and its owner Bayer AG – have laid out a long list of evidence and issues they do not want introduced at trial. Among the things the company does not want presented at trial are the following: Mentions ... Evidence and Issues

Noteworthy Internal Monsanto Documents

We are less than a month away from the start of the first federal trial in the Roundup products liability litigation, and both sides are loading up the court files with scores of pleadings and exhibits. Included in recent filings are several noteworthy internal Monsanto documents. A few are highlighted below. A more complete posting ... Noteworthy Internal Monsanto Documents

Evidentiary Hearing Set

Time flies when a big case approaches. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria has set anevidentiary hearing for Jan. 28 at 9 a.m. local time in federal court in San Francisco to be followed by a “Daubert” hearing that day at 2 p.m. The hearings are to consider evidence and experts that will be key to ... Evidentiary Hearing Set

New Monsanto documents expose cozy connection to Reuters reporter

(Update April 25, 2019)  We knew from previously released documents that Reuters reporter Kate Kelland was a key connection for Monsanto in its endeavor to undermine and discredit the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) scientists who classified glyphosate as a probable carcinogen in 2015. Now we have additional evidence of ... New Monsanto documents expose cozy connection to Reuters reporter

New Analysis Raises Questions About EPA’s Glyphosate Classification

Researcher says the EPA has disregarded substantial evidence that the popular herbicide is linked to cancer This article was originally published in Environmental Health News. By Carey Gillam A little more than a month ahead of a first-ever federal trial over the issue of whether or not Monsanto’s popular weed killers can cause cancer, a ... New Analysis Raises Questions About EPA’s Glyphosate Classification

More Details on Limits Too Large Volumes of Evidence

For those wanting more details on the reasoning and ramifications of a federal court judge’s decision to limit large volumes of evidence related to Monsanto’s internal communications and conduct from the first federal trial, this transcript of the Jan. 4 hearing on the matter is informative. Here is an exchange between plaintiff’s attorney Brent Wisner ... More Details on Limits Too Large Volumes of Evidence

Schedule Set By Judge

The first federal trial in the Roundup Products Liability Litigation may still be more than a month away, but the calendar is busy for attorneys on both sides. See below the schedule set by the judge in an order filed yesterday: PRETRIAL ORDER NO. 63: UPCOMING DEADLINES FOR BELLWETHER TRIAL. Evidentiary Hearing set for 1/28/2019 ... Schedule Set By Judge