The German company Bayer has been investing 10 billion euros over 5 years in the development of alternative weed killers, according to the Financial Times. Thus, the company is trying to deal with the consequences of lawsuits, which allege that herbicides based on glyphosate cause cancer. At the same time, glyphosate will continue to "play an important role" in the company's products, but it wants to offer more options to customers, Bayer said.
Bayer faced public pressure and thousands of lawsuits after it bought the American agro-concern Monsanto for $ 2018 billion in 63. The lawsuits alleged that Monsanto's herbicides - Roundup and Ranger Pro - pose a threat to the health of those who use them. fights weeds. The company denies all accusations against it. There is no consensus on the consequences of using glyphosphate, the most abundant element in herbicides. The International Agency for Research on Cancer calls this substance "probably carcinogenic." The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) believes glyphosate is safe when used with caution.
However, in August 2018, Bayer lost a lawsuit filed by gardener Dwayne Johnson, who was forced to pay almost $ 80 million. The plaintiff claimed that he received cancer due to the use of Roundup. In a similar case on March 20 of that year, plaintiff Edwin Hardeman, who had used the same herbicide for 10 years, proved that the herbicide caused him to develop non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In mid-May, a court in San Francisco, California, granted a similar claim from Elva and Alberta Pillioid and demanded that Bayer pay the plaintiffs $ 2 billion in compensation. Pillioid was able to prove that they got lymphoma from using Roundup.
Bayer Chairman of the Board of Directors Werner Baumann, commenting on the investment decision, noted that the company continues the process of integration with Monsanto and aims to ensure transparency and sustainability of its entire business. Bayer, he said, also plans to reduce its environmental impact by 30% by 2030 as part of measures to "address the issues and problems" associated with the purchase of the American agro-concern.
Source: https://www.vedomosti.ru