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.
New Zealand milk production is off to a strong start, with the first month of the 2025/26 dairy season recording a whopping 17.8% jump in milk production, compared to the previous season.
With adverse weather set to rain down on the Top of the South, the Bay of Plenty and parts of Northland, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says farmers, foresters, and growers need to prepare for possible challenges.
Keep up with innovation and e-commerce in China or risk losing market share. That was the message delivered at the China Business Summit in Auckland this month.
Meat Industry Association (MIA) independent chair Nathan Guy says getting meat processors involved has been a shot in the arm for the sector's key marketing initiative into China, Taste Pure Nature.
Listed carpet manufacturer, Bremworth is undertaking a $6 million expansion at its Napier plant more than two years after the site was heavily damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Federated Farmers is vowing to keep the big banks accountable for their actions and to continue pushing for meaningful change in the rural lending sector.
OPINION: Will synthetic milk derail NZ's economy?
OPINION: According to media reports, the eye-watering price of butter has prompted Finance Minister Nicola Willis to ask for a…