Broad Coalition Calls on Congress To Reject Fast-Moving Legislation To Shield Chemical Companies from Liability

WASHINGTON, DC — Legislative language moving through Congress, intended to prevent farmers, consumers, and workers from holding pesticide manufacturers accountable for the harm caused by their toxic products, is being opposed by a broad coalition of farmers, beekeepers, consumers, environmentalists, and workers, with the release of a joint statement opposing a dramatic change in a fundamental legal right.

The document, Protect the Right of Farmers, Consumers, and Workers to Hold Pesticide Companies Accountable for Their Harmful Products, is joined by 51 organizations, coalitions, businesses, and leaders representing tens of thousands of members and communities. The legislation is hidden in a provision of the Appropriations bill (Section 453) that has passed through the Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, which is headed for a vote in the full House, followed by the U.S. Senate.

The Appropriations provision is being pushed by chemical companies in the wake of extraordinary jury verdicts against Bayer/Monsanto, amounting to billions of dollars of compensatory and punitive damages, for “failure-to-warn” liability claims involving glyphosate (Roundup??) weed killer products. The pesticide has been classified as cancer causing by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization (WHO).