The phrase "money talks" first appeared in the U.S. in 1903 in the pages of the Saturday Evening Post. Since then, it has become part of the American vernacular.
Never before has that saying been more true than in the current war waged against one of the country's most popular weed killers.
Harrell's dropped it because of insurance liability reasons, Costco reportedly plans to remove it from its shelves and there is a growing list of cities across the country that have banned its use on public property.
You have to admit, a $2 billion jury award is quite a wake-up call.
That is the latest settlement figure in the most recent case involving Roundup and its manufacturer and the California couple who claim the weedkiller caused their non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The award, the third against Monsanto and parent company Bayer since last summer, has gotten the attention of the manufacturer and more than 13,000 others waiting in line to sue the company. It also has gotten the attention of a U.S. District Court judge in California who has nearly 1,000 Roundup-related cases awaiting him.
On May 22, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of the Northern District of California appointed attorney Kenneth Feinberg as a mediator in the settlement talks between Bayer and the plaintiffs.
If his name sounds familiar, it should. Feinberg was involved in administering compensation for victims of Sept. 11, the BP oil spill and plaintiffs in the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
Lawyers from both sides have been instructed to meet with Feinberg within the next two weeks.
The World Health Organization in 2015 labeled glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. The EPA says there is no scientific evidence that glyphosate, when used according to label instructions, causes cancer.
That same day, Chhabria, who is overseeing litigation against Monsanto nationwide, said the company can choose where upcoming cases will be tried.
The World Health Organization in 2015 labeled glyphosate as a probable carcinogen. The EPA says there is no scientific evidence that glyphosate, when used according to label instructions, causes cancer. Juries and public opinion clearly have sided against science and big business, and getting the genie back in the bottle is going to be difficult if not impossible.
Bayer has said it will take part in the settlement talks, but with 13,000 similar cancer cases pending, the company needs an all-or-nothing win on appeal or runs the risk of being bled dry by future decisions. Stocks have plummeted to the level that the company is worth less today than the $63 billion it paid last year in the takeover of Monsanto. The company told Bloomberg that it plans to focus on defending the safe use of glyphosate. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they will proceed as planned with litigation if Bayer doesn't come to the table.
The growing list of municipalities to ban its use on public property has grown to include Satellite Beach and Key West in Florida. And recently Janet Napolitano, the president of the scientist-rich University of California system and the former governor of Arizona and Homeland Security secretary, has temporarily halted its use on all university grounds in a scientist-rich environment.
Roundup has limited but definite use in the golf industry and is the most popular non-selective herbicide used in U.S. agriculture and recent developments no doubt will foster new research into alternative products, and that is a good thing. After all, money talks.