Federal judge denies Monsanto's request to toss lawsuit filed by Hawaiian coffee farmer diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Wednesday, July 13, 2016 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: glyphosate lawsuit, Christine Sheppard, non-Hodgkin''s lymphoma

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(NaturalNews) The world's most evil corporation was dealt a major legal blow recently, after trying to silence a Hawaiian couple for claiming injury from the use of glyphosate, a highly controversial weedkiller that the World Health Organization (WHO) last year linked to causing cancer in humans.

It all started when Christine Sheppard, a former co-owner of Dragons Lair Kona Coffee Farm in Captain Cook, on Hawaii's Big Island, stumbled upon a WHO report exposing glyphosate as a probable human carcinogen. Having several years previously developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma seemingly out of nowhere, Christine put two and two together and tied the chemicals she and her husband were spraying on their farm to her affliction.

After looking into the matter further, Christine narrowed the culprit down to glyphosate, a chemical that the couple had been using on their coffee plants for nearly 10 years before deciding to transition to more organic methods. In 2009, Christine wrote an editorial that was published in the newsletter of the Kona Coffee Farmer's Association, explaining what she had been through, and pointing to the glyphosate link.

She and her husband later filed a lawsuit against Monsanto over the herbicide's labeling, which doesn't disclose to farmers the true dangers of glyphosate, only to have Monsanto counter the suit with its own claims that the Sheppards had brought forward inadmissible evidence that exceeded the two-year statute of limitations.

According to Monsanto, Christine was suspicious of glyphosate long before her cancer diagnosis, and thus doesn't have a case. But after hearing both sides, U.S. District Judge Michael Seabright ruled against Monsanto and in favor of the Sheppards, who will now proceed with the case and hopefully win.

In Judge Seabright's view, the Sheppards' complaint is valid on its surface, "especially considering the allegations regarding the 2015 designation [of Roundup as a probable carcinogen] by the WHO." He also added that the Sheppards' complaint is fully consistent with the guidelines of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), contrary to allegations levied by Monsanto.

"The complaint is not attempting to impose a different warning label," he explained, noting that the Sheppards are contending that Monsanto's existing label is "misbranded" because it misrepresents the safety of Roundup, and is thus an inadequate and inappropriate warning label.

International scientists and numerous published studies agree: glyphosate causes cancer

In 2014, scientists from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) conducted a review of 44 separate papers published since 1980, looking at the safety of Roundup weedkiller. Based on the findings of these studies, IARC concluded that individuals exposed to glyphosate have double the risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Their paper, which was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, also outed 2,4-D, a Dow chemical used in Agent Orange defoliant during the Vietnam War, as upping the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, not to mention inhibiting immunity and promoting the spread of resistant bacteria and "superweeds."

This and other research is among the evidence being put forth in the Sheppard lawsuit, which Judge Seabright agrees warrants a fresh assessment of glyphosate's carcinogenic potential. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), he noted, has a responsibility to form a cancer assessment review committee to look at the "voluminous material" published in reference to glyphosate tolerances in food, and whether or not current guidelines are adequate.

Conventional coffee can be a major risk factor when it comes to chemical contamination, which is why we recommend drinking only organic, fair-trade coffee products like Health Ranger Select 100% Organic Hand-Roasted Whole Bean Coffee. You can learn more about the product here.

Sources for this article include:

CourthouseNews.com

EWG.org