The Iowa Senate on April 2 approved a bill that would grant immunity to pesticide companies from civil lawsuits related to damages caused by US EPA-approved pesticides. Bayer, which produces Roundup with the active ingredient glyphosate, lobbied for the bill and argued that Americans should be able to trust the EPA label as enough protection.
Bayer also argued that it may be unable to continue producing Roundup if it keeps losing money from lawsuits. The Iowa Farm Bureau and Iowa Corn Growers Association also favor the legislation. The bill is now before the Iowa House of Representatives and it is unclear whether it will have enough support to pass.
Tommy Hexter, a guest columnist for The Des Moine Register, who is an organizer for the Iowa Farmers Union and a Democrat running for the Iowa House, noted that it took EPA some 70 years to ban asbestos and that international bodies such as the International Agency for Research on Cancer has found glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” He added that less than 1% of Bayer’s lawsuits are based in Iowa.
Hexter, along with state Senator Janice Weiner (D-Iowa City), both noted that Iowa has the fastest growing cancer rate in the nation and the largest use of Roundup. Weiner wants the legislature to spend the remaining weeks of its session exploring why the Iowa cancer diagnosis rate is among the highest in the country.
In addition to Iowa, Idaho, Missouri, and Florida are also considering similar bills, according to reports from Civil Eats. Additionally,CropLife America is seeking to pass a federal law barring states from passing their own laws that restrict pesticide use based on risks.