A “pesticide shield” law that would protect manufacturers from lawsuits alleging they failed to warn customers their product could cause cancer has advanced in Missouri. Similar legislation has been advancing in Iowa and Florida (GM April 19, p. 1; April 12, p. 27), but the provision narrowly failed in the Idaho Senate.
The bills 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, has lobbied for the bills and argues that Americans should be able to trust the EPA label as enough protection.
“A procedural vote passed in the full Missouri House, indicating progress, but further steps are required before the bill reaches the Senate ahead of the end of the scheduled legislative session in about a month,” a spokesperson for Modern Ag Alliance, a Roundup advocacy group, told Green Markets on April 19.
“The legislative situation remains active in the Iowa House in the last remaining dates of the session,” the spokesperson added. “We hope to get a vote along with several other must-pass priorities for members.”