U.S. Workers Sue Monsanto Claiming Herbicide RoundUp Caused Cancer

Monsanto continues to try to discredit studies that show the health risks of herbicides Lasso and Roundup, claiming they are "junk science." However, the company is now facing several lawsuits due to severe health problems workers in the agricultural industry are experiencing due to prolonged exposure to these two products. 

Earlier in September, we reported on a case in France where a French court found Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning. Paul Francois, a French grain grower, suffered neurological problems after inhaling Monsanto's Lasso weedkiller. Monsanto is now appealing the case to France's highest court. We reported on this story here. 

Since that time, two U.S. lawsuits have been filed. These suits came six months after the World Health Organization's cancer research unit found that the key weed-killing ingredient in Roundup and other herbicides (called glyphosate) was "probably carcinogenic to humans."

Reuters reports that these two U.S. lawsuits claim that Roundup is a "defective" product and "unreasonably dangerous" to consumers. The plaintiffs also claim that "Monsanto knew or should have known that glyphosate could cause cancer and other illnesses and injuries, failing to properly warn users of the risks."

The first U.S. lawsuit was filed by 58-year-old Enrique Rubio in Los Angeles on Sept. 22. Rubio is a former farm worker who labored on farms in California, Texas and Oregon. His duties included spraying crop fields with Roundup and other pesticides before he was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1995, the lawsuit states.

The second U.S. lawsuit filed by Judi Fitzgerald makes similar claims, and was filed the same day as Rubio's in federal court in New York. Fitzgerald, who is 64, claims she was exposed in the 1990s to Roundup when she worked at a horticultural products company. She was diagnosed with leukemia in 2012.

Both lawsuits claim the Environmental Protection Agency changed an initial classification for glyphosate from "possibly carcinogenic to humans" to "evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans" after receiving pressure from Monsanto.

To combat these claims, some Monsanto advocates have gone so far as to say that Roundup is totally safe to drink in high quantities. 

When Patrick Moore, an advocate for genetically modified foods who has made such claims, was challenged by a French TV station Canal Plus to drink a glass of Roundup to prove it is safe, he refused, saying he’s “not an idiot.”

In case you missed it, you can watch the exchange here:

A recent MIT study, what Monsanto would label as "junk science," states half of all children will be autistic by 2025 and that the herbicide Roundup is to blame. Watch this video for more information:

So what do you think? Are chemicals like glyphosate really responsible for neurological disorders and cancer? Sound off below!