White House Backs Bayer in Push for SCOTUS Roundup Review

Federal lawyers submitted a brief this week backing Bayer’s argument that federal laws governing herbicides like Roundup should prevent lawsuits over the popular chemical.

WASHINGTON (RFD-TV) — The White House is taking a stand with the agriculture chemical giant Bayer. Federal officials are calling on the Supreme Court to take up the company’s appeal over Roundup.

Trump Administration lawyers submitted a brief this week backing Bayer’s argument that federal laws regulating herbicides like Roundup should prevent lawsuits over the popular chemical.

Currently, U.S. officials consider Roundup and its main ingredient, glyphosate, to be safe. However, some U.S. states have filed lawsuits claiming a “failure to warn” that Roundup causes cancer.

“The support of the U.S. Government is an important step and good news for U.S. farmers, who need regulatory clarity. The stakes could not be higher as the misapplication of federal law jeopardizes the availability of innovative tools for farmers and investments in the broader U.S. economy,” said CEO Bill Anderson.

Since Bayer acquired Monsanto in 2018, the company has paid around $10 billion in claims. The company’s stock jumped nearly 15% after the announcement on Tuesday, according to MarketWatch.

Related Stories
Agricultural property presents unique opportunities for scammers to impersonate landowners and attempt to sell rural property they do not own. And in many cases, they are getting dangerously close to succeeding.
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s John Shutske says simple safety habits can help prevent some of agriculture’s most common injuries.
Commissioner Sid Miller says productive farmland, water resources, and rural infrastructure are increasingly under pressure as data centers continue growing across Texas.
Congressman Mark Messmer discusses the Farm Bill, rural investment priorities, Prop 12, and support for farmers facing economic pressure.
Ag Commissioner Sid Miller and Rep. Henry Cuellar say rising costs and generational shifts are making it harder to keep young producers in the industry.
Texas Farm Bureau takes us behind the scenes at USDA’s sterile fly facility, considered a first line of defense against New World Screwworm, a fight Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller fears is “futile.”

LATEST STORIES BY THIS AUTHOR:

Show producer Donna Sanders shares her perspective on filming the latest episode of Where the Food Comes From at Splenda Stevia Farms, a company growing a sweet specialty crop here in the U.S. that is typically imported from overseas.
As I try to catch up on my writing after being on the road for a lengthy time, I have several recurring themes in my legal work. Another potpourri of random ag law and tax issues — that is the topic of today’s Firm to Farm blog post by RFD-TV Agrilegal Expert Roger McEowen.
Splenda’s new stevia farm in Florida is the first of its kind in the United States. Thousands of plants produce millions of leaves that are then turned into plant-based stevia sweetener products. But how do they get the sweet stuff out?
What does Splenda have to do with farming? Sweeteners like monk fruit and stevia are plant-based — so they are just not sugar, but are comprised of those other plants also grown on farms.
Where the Food Comes From producer Donna Sanders takes us along on a behind-the-scenes look at filming the show’s newest episode, “Clemson Blue,” where university cheesemakers reveal how they put the “blue” in their award-winning blue cheese.