An American jury has awarded a couple diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma after years of using Monsato’s weed killer Roundup, Sh200 billion.
“Two billion dollars in punitive damages is as clear a statement as you can get that they [Monsanto] have to change what they’re doing,” Brent Wisner, an attorney representing Alva and Alberta Pilliod told reporters.
The jury also found that the Agrochemical giant did not fore warn its customers of the dangers of using Roundup which contains glyphosate which is said to cause cancer.
But according to the parent company, Bayer, the Sh200 billion award was too much and unjustifiable.
The company plans on appealing the decision.
“Bayer is disappointed with the jury’s decision and will appeal the verdict in this case,” the company told BuzzFeed News.
“We have a great sympathy for Mr and Mrs Pilliod, but evidence in this case was clear that both have long histories of illnesses known to be substantial risk factors for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL),” it added.
Mrs Pilliod, her attorney noted, still needs about Sh2,000,000 a month in medication, including chemotherapy, to fight a brain tumor that has been detected twice.
Speaking during a presser, Mrs Pilliod said that she resents Monsanto for not informing them about the dangers posed by using the herbicide.
“We wish that Monsanto had warned us ahead of time of the dangers of using Monsanto and that there was something in the front of their label that said ‘Danger, may cause cancer,'” she said.
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In Kenya, Health CS Sicily Kariuki instructed the ministry’s lawyers to inquire about Roundup herbicide causing cancer from the Ministry of Agriculture.
Here, the herbicide is already widely used in the country by farmers to get rid of weeds.
In the letter addressed to CS Agriculture Mwangi Kiunjuri sought to find out whether it was necessary to place cancer warning on foods containing glyphosate.
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