Monsanto Cancer Verdict Upheld By Judge; Analyst Estimates $800 Billion In Future Liability
by Kat Gal in Healthy Holistic Living, December 19, 2018
Superior Court Judge Ruled That Bayer-Monsanto Is Guilty
They’ve been waiting for the news about how San Francisco Superior Court Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos would rule in a certain case. Would she rule against or in favor of Bayer’s appeal of the Monsanto Cancer Verdict?
The case was finally resolved Tuesday morning. Judge Suzanne Ramos Bolanos upheld the jury’s decision, ruling that Roundup – a dangerous glyphosate-based weedkiller sold by Monsanto – lead to California man’s terminal cancer. She also ruled that Monsanto, in fact, intentionally hid the potential dangers of the weedkiller. (1)
Bayer had to know that such news would result in serious damage to the company. As the news of Judge Ramon Bolanos’ ruling spread like wildfire, it, of course, affected the stock market as well. The ruling resulted in an immediate crash in Bayer’s stock value.
This Is Sending A Powerful Message To The Industry
Did this only affect Bayer? Not necessarily. The news is sending a powerful message to the entire Agrochemical industry that they cannot walk away without taking responsibility. They are not innocent, but legally and financially responsible for any adverse effects, harms, and dangers that are the result of their dangerous products. The EPA, USDA, and FDA are all responsible for giving a regulatory pass for Roundup or similar dangerous ingredients. (2)
The original total of punitive damage was $289 million earlier this summer. However, the judge decided to reduce it to $78.5 million. While the current amount is still very high, there is one concern. The higher the award amount is, the clearer message the ruling sends to Monsanto and anyone involved. The higher the award is, the more they may understand that they completely deserve the punishment for covering up the dangers of their deadly herbicide.
Though their punishment could be higher, the ruling still affirms Monsanto and Bayer’s liability for causing illness from their product, Roundup. It also allows the opportunity for more lawsuits and even stricter regulation of agrochemicals in the future.
Ian Hilliker, an analyst at Jefferies LLC in London, estimated that potentially up 8,700 plaintiffs may have cancer as a result of glyphosate exposure. If this is true, Monsanto’s liability could reach a whopping $800 billion. This could be huge considering that the original Bayer-Monsanto buyout offer was $57 billion, which is way less than $800 billion.
Clearly, Monsanto doesn’t seem like such a smart and financially beneficial deal so far. At a 57.7 billion Euros in losses so far, Bayer’s Monsanto acquisition seems to be one of the largest destructions of market capitalization in the entire history of the German stock market.
We can’t say they don’t deserve it. It is very important to send a message to any company involved in making our food that we don’t want to ingest harmful chemicals and dangerous ingredients. We want healthy, real food instead that nourishes our bodies instead of harms them.
Take Your Health Into Your Own Hands
If the government and large companies don’t protect you, do it yourself. If you want to stay safe, you ditch conventional produce and packed foods. Choose organic products whenever possible to ensure that your food is free from harmful chemicals.
NOTE FROM GREENER HAWAII: AND CONTACT YOUR LOCAL WEED MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENTS TO STOP USING ROUNDUP!
https://healthimpactnews.com/2018/judge-says-she-will-overturn-jury-conviction-of-monsanto-and-250-million-in-damages-over-glyphosate-injuries
https://www.regulations.gov/document