"A French court upheld a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after inhaling the U.S. company's Lasso weedkiller," Reuters reports.

Paul Francois, French grain grower, suffered neurological problems after inhaling Monsanto's Lasso weedkiller. He says he suffered "memory loss, headaches and stammering after inhaling Monsanto's Lasso in 2004" and he blames Monsanto for not providing adequate warnings on the product label.

In 2012, Francois sued Monsanto and won. The company appealed the case, and today the initial decision was upheld. 

Reuters reports that today's decision by the appeal court in Lyon (southeast France):

Confirmed the initial judgment that ruled Monsanto was "responsible" and ordered the company to "fully compensate" grain grower Paul Francois.

However, Monsanto isn't going down without a fight. Their lawyers will appeal again to the highest courts in France. 

Interesting to note that after Francois's incident had occurred in 2004, Lasso weedkiller was banned in France. 

"Though it once was a top-selling herbicide, it gradually lost popularity, and critics say several studies have shown links to a range of health problems," states Reuters. 

The weedkiller has been used since the 1960s, but it has since been banned in Canada, Belgium, and Britain. France decided to ban the product in 2007.

Reuters reports that a Monsanto spokesman claimed the company decided to phase out Lasso in the United States "several years ago for commercial reasons." 

However, Lasso is not the only Monsanto herbicide accused of being harmful. 

A recent MIT study states half of all children will be autistic by 2025. The alleged culprit? The herbicide called Roundup, used by agrochemical giant Monsanto. Watch this video for more information:

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and part of the World Health Organization (WHO) concurred on the dangers of Roundup. Reuters reports the two organizations found that the key ingredient in Roundup (called glyphosate) was "probably carcinogenic to humans."

Monsanto continues to call studies against herbicides Lasso and Roundup as "junk science." 

What do you think? Will the French farmer prevail over the chemical giant? Sound off below! 

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC its affiliates, or its employees.

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