Supreme Court may decide if federal law shields Bayer from Roundup lawsuits

The Supreme Court is poised to consider whether federal law shields Bayer from thousands of lawsuits claiming that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer, after the company petitioned the justices for a definitive ruling in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, No. 24-1068. Roundup, formulated with the active ingredient glyphosate to be used with genetically modified seeds, is widely used in U.S.

agriculture. The American Farm Bureau Federation told the court glyphosate is used on roughly 300 million acres, while the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer in 2015 found the herbicide was “probably carcinogenic.” The Environmental Protection Agency does not classify glyphosate as a carcinogen and has repeatedly approved Roundup’s labeling; Bayer has paid more than $10 billion to settle about 100,000 claims and faces thousands more.

Bayer argues federal pesticide law pre-empts state requirements to add cancer warnings because the E.P.A. does not require such labeling, and it says conflicting court rulings require resolution by the Supreme Court after a 2024 federal court in Pennsylvania reached a different conclusion.

The issue has drawn an unusual coalition of opponents, including lawmakers, environmental groups and activists; Representative Chellie Pingree said, “This transcends politics,” and framed the dispute as concerns about people’s health and corporate profits.

Key Topics

Politics, Bayer, Monsanto V. Durnell, Roundup, Glyphosate, Environmental Protection Agency