By Paul Goeringer
If you have been following the national agricultural news lately, beyond discussions on policy, there has been a focus on states’ legislatures considering “Crop Protection” legislation. This liability protection would extend to companies producing federally approved pesticides.
We have all seen the news of large settlements from users of federally approved pesticides claiming linkages between their use and cancer. The biggest of these lawsuits is the Roundup litigation. To date, Bayer has paid roughly $10 billion to settle claims that Roundup has caused cancer. At the same time, class actions have been filed against Syngenta, the manufacturer of Paraquat, for claims that the product causes Parkinson’s Disease. Finally, AMVAC Chemical Corporation has been sued due to claims that Dacthal (DCPA) has caused birth defects.