EPA, Justice Department Want Glyphosate Ruling Reversed

The U.S. government jumped into a California court case that found glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, causes cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency filed a friend of the court brief last week that said it reviewed and approved the label on the weed-killing product and that a jury finding based on California law should be reversed. Even the Department of Justice joined the EPA in weighing in on the ruling in the long-running court battle over Roundup. Over the summer, the judge in the case cut the jury award to $25 million in the case of a man who claimed his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma was caused by years of Roundup use. However, the judge didn’t reverse the jury finding in the case, saying in his opinion that Roundup was defective because the label didn’t include a cancer warning. Back in May, the EPA issued a statement saying it “continues to find no risks associated with glyphosate if it’s used following the current label and that glyphosate is not a carcinogen.” Bayer, which acquired Monsanto, the company that originally produced Roundup, was optimistic after the latest legal turn in the case, saying the company is encouraged after the U.S. government and other parties opted to support the company’s appeal.