Dolores Huerta and EWG React to Lawsuit Against Monsanto over Cancer-Causing Weed Killer

WASHINGTON – A farm worker and a horticultural assistant who both developed cancer after being exposed to Monsanto’s glyphosate weed killer have filed separate lawsuits against the company.

In March, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate – the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide – as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

In a statement, renowned labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, who co-founded the United Farm Workers, said of the lawsuits: “Farmers, farm workers, and other agricultural laborers have always been on the front lines of exposure to dangerous chemicals like weed killers. The recent news that glyphosate, an herbicide that has been around for decades, is a probable human carcinogen is alarming, but unfortunately not surprising.”

Scott Faber, EWG’s senior vice president for government affairs, commented that, “The use of Monsanto’s weed killer has exploded over the past two decades in conjunction with its application on glyphosate-resistant GMO crops.”

“It’s time for the federal government to better protect the health of those exposed to harmful agricultural chemicals, specifically glyphosate,” Faber added. “And it’s time we require mandatory GMO labeling to protect consumers’ right to know whether their food choices are contributing to the increased use of glyphosate.”

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