Monsanto’s Roundup Weed-Killer Goes on Trial With Billions at Stake
After it was introduced in the 1970s, Roundup was promoted as an "herbicide that gets to the root of the problem." Now, four decades later, manufacturer Monsanto will face a lawsuit that seeks to get to the root of another problem: whether the active ingredient in the weed-killer is to blame for a California man's terminal cancer.
June 26, 2018 | Source: CBS News | by Aimee Picchi
After it was introduced in the 1970s, Roundup was promoted as an “herbicide that gets to the root of the problem.”
Now, four decades later, manufacturer Monsanto will face a lawsuit that seeks to get to the root of another problem: whether the active ingredient in the weed-killer is to blame for a California man’s terminal cancer. If Monsanto fails to persuade the court that its product isn’t to blame, the agricultural company’s flagship product could take a hefty hit.
Billions in revenue could be at stake for Monsanto and its new corporate parent, German chemical giant Bayer, which closed its $60 billion acquisition earlier this month. While Monsanto doesn’t break out sales of glyphosate — the active ingredient in Roundup — the product delivered $4.8 billion in revenue in 2015. In its latest fiscal year, Monsanto cited higher global sales of glyphosate for helping lift total revenue by 8 percent.