California Gives a Giant Middle Finger to Monsanto

Monsanto is bad. In an age where facts and truth are ambiguous, a clearer thought has never crossed my mind. Monsanto might even be one of the most depraved organizations in American history; at least top ten. But Monsanto keeps winning because corrupt government officials keep working with the company to hide just how toxic one of its top-selling products is (among other things). Yeah, we’re talking about Roundup.

Given that Monsanto has its biologically engineered hands in practically everything to do with American agriculture, it’s rare to see any institution — let alone an entire state — take on the giant. But California just did it. On Wednesday, the state’s Environmental Health Hazard Assessment listed Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, as cancer causing.

Glyphosate probably causes cancer. And Monsanto knows it. The official who lead the EPA’s investigation into whether Roundup caused cancer literally bragged that he “should get a medal” for killing the administration’s inquiry during a call with the company. Right now at least 800 people are suing Monsanto after allegedly contracting non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma from the pesticide, according to CNN.

California’s decision to list glyphosate as cancer-causing comes from an independent analysis published by the International Agency for Cancer Research. Its findings said that the pesticide is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Despite Monsanto’s best effort to fight California’s labeling, the state’s Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit filed by the company to halt glyphosate’s classification. As of July 7, the chemical will be categorized as “known to the state to cause cancer.”