$2.1 BILLION AWARDED FOR PESTICIDE HARM
Is your state considering liability protection for pesticide makers?
Summary: Government is doing better, an informed and engaged public can help, but changing methods in agriculture is our best protection against harm from pesticides.
Across America, many users of the weedkiller glyphosate (once the active ingredient in Roundup) have sued for damages to their health. The number of cases and the verdicts in favor of plaintiffs have been huge: about 170,000 cases have been filed, with 23 Roundup trials in court so far. The largest award happened in January 2024 in a Monsanto case: $2.25 billion was awarded to a man in Philadelphia but was reduced by the judge to $400 million.
The first verdict in favor of a plaintiff was in 2018 for a school janitor with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma whose job required him to control weeds, including on the playground. The latest verdict was to a man in Georgia for $2.1 billion: $65 million compensatory, $2 billion punitive. While the EPA has its approval of the weedkiller under review, Monsanto still claims it is not carcinogenic. The punitive damages awarded by the courts are based on evidence that Monsanto concealed known dangers. The company will appeal this recent ruling.
Recognizing a renewed need to protect itself, the pesticide industry began a new strategy in 2024 to get state legislatures to pass bills that prevent consumers from being able to sue. A history and recent analysis of this issue can be found here. Although vaccine makers sought and won liability from congress in the mid-1980’s, pesticide makers, perhaps because of a new administration at HHS and EPA, have turned to the states.
Known as “pesticide liability protection”, the state bills vary in detail but generally are intended to protect pesticide makers (and usually sellers) whose products have EPA approval. The strategy began in Florida, Idaho, Iowa, and Missouri in 2024, and expanded this year to include Mississippi and Wyoming as of late January 2025. Others will likely be added.
As a humid, agricultural state where everything wants to grow, especially weeds, Mississippi is highly dependent on pesticide use. Although the state’s HB 1221 died in committee two weeks after being introduced, it’s reintroduction in 2026 is likely.
Because three federal district courts have issued rulings that see this issue differently, pesticide liability will likely go to the Supreme Court. But that will take time, the legal details are complex, and we don’t know what the final verdict will be.
From gardens and roadsides to school playgrounds and parks, we have long used glyphosate as a weedkiller. But large-volume use, of course, has been in agriculture, especially for commodity crops like corn and soy, important for their use in feedlots, pet food, processed foods, and, of course, as exports.
Three recognized human health concerns with pesticides are: 1) their ability to mimic hormones, thus the term ‘hormone or endocrine disruption’; 2) impact on the gut microbiome leading to ‘metabolic dysfunction’; and 3) impacts on the nervous system and IQ development.
Now, however, there is good news: 1) regenerative farming practices avoid pesticides, 2) the most nutritious beef is that which goes from diverse pasture forages to market without a stop at the feedlot, and 3) consumers of highly processed foods are becoming savvier about harms to health. With time, growing awareness and changes in methods and buying preferences will greatly reduce pesticide use.
Still, current dependence on the use of pesticides, the profits made from pesticide sales, and the awards being made by the courts all indicate that pesticide makers will continue to seek protection in some form, likely from the states.
As consumers we have a huge role to play in what happens with the future of all pesticides: we can personally choose to use nontoxic products and practices in gardens, lawns, and in our homes; we can encourage our agricultural colleges and local Extension Service to promote regenerative methods in gardening, farming, and household pest control; we can ask our state legislators to vote ‘NO’ on any pesticide liability protection; and we can take any action that lets all elected officials know that we want a cleaner environment.
Yet, pesticides are just one environmental toxin out of the many that flow into America’s air, water, food, ecosystems, homes, and workplaces on a daily basis. Now that federal health authorities are promising ‘gold standard science’ to understand the root causes of chronic disease, and ‘root cause medicine’ is moving toward the mainstream, America’s chance of overcoming the costliest item in the federal budget - healthcare - is improving.
Even if you already know how to avoid toxic products, many persons around you still may not. This means harmful products and services will remain on the market until more consumers, farmers, policymakers, health practitioners, and educators make the changes needed to reduce their use.
In reality, it will take changes in the way we think about and live our everyday lives to create a safe environment for humans and the planet. Which is what the vision of Living Well Locally is all about.