JEFFERSON CITY – The president and CEO of Associated Industries of Missouri recently said the nonprofit business association was very surprised by the recent decision in a injury suit in California regarding the herbicide Roundup manufactured by Mansanto.
“The weight of the studies say it (the chemical in Roundup) is non-carcinogenic,” Ray McCarty told the St. Louis Record.
He pointed out there were over 800 studies that found the chemical, glyphosate, doesn’t cause cancer and noted only one report said it probably does, which has wiped out the rest of the evidence.
McCarty said he was concerned the company was getting a "bad rap."
“It seemed like there were other issues they tried to prove to the jury,” he noted. “Proving one case to one jury doesn’t make it true.”
Former groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson was awarded $289 million in a California lawsuit against Monsanto. A 16-member Superior Court jury in the trial decided in favor of the plaintiff after he claimed that he got non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from using Roundup.
After three days of deliberation, the jury awarded Johnson $250 million in punitive damages and almost $40 million in compensatory damages. They decided that Monsanto had failed to warn consumers about the hazards of its chemical.
Lawyers for Johnson claimed he contacted the company several times prior to filing his lawsuit in an effort to alert them to his concerns.
Johnson has been given less than two years to live and claims his condition stems from his use of Roundup in his duties. The jury heard of two incidences where he was doused in the chemical by accident.
Media have reported that as many as 2,000 similar cases against the company have been filed in state courts across the nation. Due to the severity of Johnson’s condition, his case was fast-tracked.
Monsanto Vice President Scott Partridge has stated they will be appealing the case.
'We are sympathetic to Mr. Johnson and his family," Partridge was quoted as saying in a statement. “But the court decision does not change the fact that more than 800 scientific studies and reviews ... support the fact that glyphosate does not cause cancer, and did not cause Mr. Johnson's cancer."
Partridge also said the company stood behind its products and would continue to defend Roundup in the face of criticism. He stated the product has been safely used as a tool for farmers and other growers.