Monsanto has been found guilty of the chemical poisoning of a French farmer.
Grain farmer Paul Francois said he began to suffer from neurological problems after inhaling Lasso, a Monsanto weedkiller, in 2004. He claimed Monsanto did not provide adequate warnings on the product's label. The ruling came down from a court in Lyon, France, today, although damages have yet to be determined.
Francois' layer told Reuters that this is the first time a pesticide maker has been found guilty of such a poisoning, and could lend weight to similar claims.
Monsanto said it was disappointed with the decision and would consider an appeal.
France is targeting a 50 per cent reduction in pesticide use between 2008 and 2018. Initial results show a four per cent cut in farm and non-farm pesticide use from 2008 to 2010.
Colleen Kimmett reports for The Tyee.
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Meggsy
1 year ago
That's a step.
Monsanto is always in the courts, it's about time they take responsibility for their harmful products instead of continuously suing farmers for non ethical reasons.
Henry Dorsett Case
1 year ago
wild animals will not eat GMO
This is really good news. Have a look at the skyrocketing figures on autoimmune disorders in the west and our diets.
OwlRol
1 year ago
Got to go Mon san to
Too bad Percy from Sask. couldn't take advantage of this decision in his Monsanto battle over Rapeseed/Canola.
Their history over PCB usage, Agent Orange, Terminator seeds, trying to get GM crops into the EU through the back door of eastern Europe and so much more, should have their board of directors, etc. in prison rather than making big bucks. One of the worst examples of corporate power.
Just maybe this could begin the shift to a healthier alternative. As geneticist David Suzuki pointed out, genetic modification has a place in the lab with careful, long term research, not in the marketplace that rapidly and sloppily puts it out into the environment, be dammned the externality costs, for big profits.
Then again, that kind of money affords very high priced lawyers that tilt appeal results. They know how to drag it out to bankrupt opponents.
Monsanto is one of several corporations that needs to be de-certified, its site and equipment sold off and its 1% litigated. Even that wouldn't make up 10% for the damage they've done.
Keep it going, Paul Francois, and cheers to the court in Lyons, France. Just maybe...
eastcoast
1 year ago
Monsanto judgement
This is excellent. In other good agricultural news: MacDonald's "announced a laudable course of action regarding the sows (female pigs) in their supply chain: McDonald’s is requiring, by May, that its suppliers of pork provide plans for phasing out gestation crates." So... public pressure is working!
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/omg-mcdonalds-does-the-right-thing/?ref=global-home
samantha raftery
1 year ago
Iowa pig farmer used gmo corn from monsanto
Jerry Rosman, an Iowa pig and cattle farmer fed GMO corn to his pigs and experienced pseudo pregnancies in 80% of his pigs. Some of his neighbours were experiencing the same symptoms in their animals. He used corn with roundup and BT in the seed. I am not in any way, shape or form an advocate of the cruel farming methods used in these huge farms however in his interview, Mr. Rosman said that if this is happening to his animals he questioned the effects on humans.
We know that monsanto also makes aspartame which is labelled as a sugar substitute. The structure of aspartame seems simple, but what a complicated structure aspartame really is. Two isolated amino acids in aspartame are fused together by its third component, deadly methanol. In this structure, methanol bonds the two amino acids together, but when released at a mere 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the methanol becomes a poisonous free radical.
Methanol breaks down into formic acid and formaldehyde, embalming fluid. Methanol is a dangerous neurotoxin, a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage in the eye, interferes with DNA replication, and causes birth defects.
I think they also call it rumsfeld's disease because donald rumsfeld was instrumental in getting this stuff approved by the FDA who initially banned this substance but passed it by rumsfeld calling in favours from the govt. good for this french farmer who has done what has, to date, been impossible. Mr. Rosman went bankrupt from the loss of his animals and now has a small farm and going organic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBNCjMk7pHI