Enrique Rubio and Judi Fitzgerald are both former farmers who were diagnosed with cancer, and have filed lawsuits against Monsanto for ignoring the hazards of Roundup and allowing farmers to be exposed to it. The active ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate which is considered “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the World Health Organization. Monsanto was able to use the herbicide because of the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency changed its original definition of glyphosate from “possibly carcinogenic to humans” to “evidence of non-carcinogenicity in humans” after Monsanto pressured them. These two former farmers are just the beginning of many more cases likely to surface; so, even if the two farmers who are filing suit may not get their lives back since they have incurable cancer, they still have the potential to protect future farmers from cancer-causing herbicides.
Sources:
Carey Gillam, “U.S. workers sue Monsanto claiming herbicide caused cancer,” Reuters, September 29, 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/monsanto-lawsuit-idUSL1N11Z20Y20150929#vCq1eP9QBBeUvDCA.97
Center For Food Safety, “Glyphosate And Cancer Risk: Frequently Asked Questions,” May 2015, http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/files/glyphosate-faq_64013.pdf
Student Researcher: Joshua Morazan, Indian River State College
Faculty Evaluator: Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D., Indian River State College