For Monsanto, now owned by Germany's Bayer, this marks its first defeat before a federal court in the United States. The multinational, owned by the German Bayer group, was ordered by a San Francisco judge in California to pay 80.8 million dollars (71.8 million euros) to a man now in his seventies, Edwin Hardeman, who used the herbicide Roundup for thirty years and is today suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Over 11,000 lawsuits against Monsanto over glyphosate

The court had already ruled on 19 March, finding that exposure to glyphosate (the active substance in Monsanto's product) was "a substantial factor" in the onset of the tumour. The decision to impose such a high compensation award is of great significance, given that this precedent could now set a legal benchmark. There are indeed more than 11,000 lawsuits filed in the United States against Monsanto.

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“..Hardeman’s legal team presented expert testimony and research that #Roundup causes mutations in human cells and that human populations that are exposed to [#glyphosate] are more likely to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.” nytimes.com/2019/03/27/us/… via @NYTimes

♥ 2 28 mar 2019 · Apri su X →

"Moreover," the French daily Le Monde pointed out, "Hardeman's case was in some respects weakened by the man's age. The risk of developing non-Hodgkin lymphoma does indeed increase with the passing of years. Furthermore, the Californian had suffered from hepatitis C, a condition that can predispose to cancer." Despite this, the judges evidently considered the link between glyphosate and the disease to be real.

Read also: Glyphosate. The story of Martin, a student who eats organic and is still contaminated

The two previous defeats in the United States and France

For Monsanto, this is its third defeat in a court of law. In August 2018, the company had been ordered to pay compensation of 289 million dollars to Dewayne Johnson, a gardener suffering from the same condition. That award was later reduced on appeal to 78 million. Five months later, in France, the administrative court of Lyon ruled to annul the marketing authorisation for Roundup Pro 360.

According to the French judges, the national agency for food, environmental and occupational safety (Anses) had "made an error of judgement with regard to the precautionary principle" when, in March 2017, it granted its approval for the product's use.

"As was demonstrated during the trial, since Monsanto obtained authorisation to market Roundup 40 years ago, the company has refused to act responsibly. The documents clearly show that the multinational showed no concern for the health risks posed by glyphosate and manipulated public opinion," Hardeman's lawyers commented.

Bayer: "The ruling does not change 40 years of science"

Bayer's position, however, remains unchanged. The company stated that "the verdict does not alter either the weight of more than 40 years of science or the conclusions of regulatory bodies around the world, according to which glyphosate-based herbicides are safe." The World Health Organisation, however, in March 2015 added the substance to the list of those "probably carcinogenic."