Monsanto e Fazendeiros entram com processo contra o estado da California

Monsanto Co. says it has joined a coalition of U.S. farm groups in a lawsuit against the state of California to stop a requirement for cancer warnings on products containing glyphosate.

This case was filed on Nov. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern

District of California.

California added glyphosate to its Proposition 65 list of cancer causing chemicals in July, and will require products containing the herbicide to carry warnings by July 2018.

“Because of California’s unjustified listing of glyphosate in July 2017, manufacturers of products containing glyphosate, or products with even trace residues of glyphosate, sold in California could be required to affix a false and misleading warning label to their products starting in 2018. This labeling requirement would not only impact Monsanto and its Roundup-branded products, but also other glyphosate-based herbicides produced by other companies, the crops grown by U.S. farmers who use the herbicide, and food products derived from those crops. The consequences of this labeling requirement could be significant, including higher production and compliance costs that translate into higher prices for consumers at the grocery store,” the company said in a statement.

“Monsanto is pleased to stand today with leading farmerorganizations from across the nation to challenge the constitutionality of California’s unjustified and harmful Proposition 65 listing of glyphosate,” said Scott Partridge, Monsanto’s vice president of global strategy. “Glyphosate is a safe, environmentally sustainable and cost-effective tool for farmers. This labeling requirement would do nothing more than compel false warnings about a safe product and unnecessarily increase food prices for consumers.”

Leading the farmers’ coalition are the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Corn Growers Association, Associated Industries of Missouri, Iowa Soybean Association, Agribusiness Association of Iowa, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Missouri Farm Bureau, North Dakota Grain Growers Association, South Dakota Agri-Business Association and the United States Durum Growers Association and Western Plant Health Association.

Monsanto added: “California’s unjustified listing was based solely on a highly controversial and deeply flawed 2015 opinion by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Recent investigations have shown that IARC members concealed and manipulated data that would have undermined IARC’s opinion. IARC’s flawed opinion and non-transparent process have come under investigation by the U.S. Congress.”

Agribusiness Global, 15/11/2017