How industry neglect fueled a US$2.2 billion verdict

How industry neglect fueled a US$2.2 billion verdict

The agriculture sector cannot afford to bobble the gene editing ball as it did with glyphosate

Reading Time: 2 minutes Bayer AG’s Monsanto has been ordered to pay a staggering US$2.2 billion to a former Roundup user who linked his cancer to the herbicide. This significant sum is the largest verdict in the ongoing five-year litigation involving the weed killer. However, the legal battles are far from over. There are still more than 50,000 cases […] Read more

Kochia in a canola field.  Photo: File

Crop-killing weeds advance across US farmland as chemicals lose effectiveness

Losing battle with weeds adds pressures to farmers already stressed by inflation, extreme weather

Crop-killing weeds such as kochia are advancing across the U.S. northern plains and Midwest, in the latest sign that weeds are developing resistance to chemicals faster than companies including Bayer BAYGn.DE and Corteva CTVA.N can develop new ones to fight them.


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Appeals court blocks California warning labels for glyphosate

Decision important in ongoing lawsuits, Bayer says

Reuters — A divided U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday said California cannot require businesses to warn consumers about the potential dangers of glyphosate, an ingredient in Roundup herbicide that has been linked to cancer. Upholding a permanent injunction, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco found it unconstitutional to force Bayer’s […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

EU countries fail to agree on extending glyphosate approval

Current approval expires Dec. 15

Brussels | Reuters — European Union governments failed on Friday to give a decisive opinion on a proposal to extend by 10 years EU approval for the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Bayer’s Roundup herbicide. A “qualified majority” of 15 countries representing at least 65 per cent of the bloc’s population had been […] Read more


File photo of a cornfield in Mexico. (Roberto Cabrera/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. escalates Mexico corn trade spat with dispute panel request

Canada 'considering its next steps'

Washington | Reuters — The United States on Thursday escalated its objections to Mexico’s curbs on genetically modified corn imports, requesting a dispute settlement panel under the North American trade pact, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said. The request to send the dispute to arbitrators was announced after formal consultations failed to resolve deep divisions […] Read more

The Bayer AG logo at the headquarters in France.  Photo: Reuters/Benoit Tessier/File

Bayer slashes outlook as glyphosate demand weakens further

Analysts say dry weather conditions hurt farmers' demand for seeds and pesticides

Reuters – Further deterioration in demand for glyphosate-based weed killers led Bayer BAYGn.DE to cut its full-year earnings outlook and announce a 2.5 billion euro ($2.8 billion USD) write-down on glyphosate-related assets. In an unscheduled statement late on Monday, the German drugs and pesticides maker said it was projecting 2023 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation […] Read more


Photo: alisbalb/iStock/Getty Images

Feds lift ‘pause’ on increases in crop chemical MRLs

New set of rules also calls for 'cosmetic' pesticide use to be banned on federal lands

Proposals to increase a crop chemical’s maximum residue limits (MRLs) on foods and food crops in Canada can again seek federal approval, after being put on temporary hold two years ago. Among several other changes, a planned new package of federal regulatory amendments will put a gradual end to a “pause” imposed in August 2021 […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Bayer settles with New York over Roundup safety claims

Company blocked from advertising product as non-toxic

New York | Reuters — Bayer agreed on Thursday to pay US$6.9 million to settle claims by New York Attorney General Letitia James that it misled consumers by advertising Roundup, which has been linked to cancer, as environmentally safe. The settlement resolves accusations that Bayer and its Monsanto unit failed to substantiate their repeated claims […] Read more