Stop the rot!
OPINION: Bayer Crop Science closing its Hastings research site could be the tip of the iceberg.
While courts around the world argue through claims herbicide Roundup is carcinogenic, Bayer has agreed to pay out US$10.9 billion to settle US-based lawsuits.
The German company that owns Roundup suggests this will bring closure to around 75% of the litigations, said to number in excess of 125,000 claims.
However, Bayer chief executive Werner Baumann said in a statement that, based on the extensive body of science, the company does not accept that the glyphosate-based weed killer causes cancer.
“First and foremost, the Roundup settlement is the right action at the right time for Bayer to bring a long period of uncertainty to an end,” says Baumann.
The company says the settlements “contain no admission of liability or wrongdoing”.
Roundup was originally manufactured by US chemical giant Monsanto, which Bayer acquired in June 2018 at a price of US$63 billion. Around the world, Bayer’s denial of a causal link to cancer is backed by several chemical regulatory authorities, including the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Plaintiffs claim that prolonged use of the weed killer has caused non-Hodgkin’s’ lymphoma and other cancers, but as recently as two weeks ago, a federal judge in California ruled that extensive scientific evidence does not support a cancer warning on the product.
Separately, Bayer will also pay out US$820 million to settle a case related to water pollution caused by its now banned, toxic chemical compound, polychlorinated bi-phenyl (PCB), and a further US$400 million to settle allegations that its dicamba-based herbicides caused crop damage through spray drift.
Said to be an effective herbicide for the control of broad-leaved weeds, Dicamba is now banned for use in the United States.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
Alliance has announced a series of capital raise roadshow event, starting on 29 September in Tuatapere, Southland.
OPINION: Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.
State farmer Pāmu (Landcorp) has announced a new equity partnership in an effort to support pathways to farm ownership for livestock farm operators.
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