More evidence that Monsanto knew about the risks of Roundup cancer appeared in court documents that showed shady communication between Monsanto and the American Council on Science and Health.

The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization, published excerpts of the emails last week.

According to Environmental Working Group, in 2015, Monsanto scientist Dr. Daniel Goldstein and the then-acting head of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) Gilbert Ross wrote emails back and forth regarding the potential financial windfall for ACSH if it would defend Roundup and glyphosate, in particular.

Ross asked Monsanto for financial support, “particularly if ACSH’s commentary is needed to critique an adverse outcome.”

That “adverse outcome” alluded to the fact that Monsanto had heard that the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) was getting ready to declare that glyphosate should be classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

The American Council on Science and Health says it is a “consumer advocacy organization,” but Mother Jones discovered an internal document in 2013 that indicated ACSH received $30,000 from Bayer Cropscience, $22,500 from a Chinese-owned pesticide company Syngenta, $30,000 from 3M, and many more.

In all, ACSH received nearly $400,000 from private foundations and corporations in 2013 alone. Germany-based Bayer AG bought Monsanto in 2017.

Incriminating Documents Appeared at Roundup Cancer Trials

The emails between the ACSH and Monsanto, along with internal Monsanto emails, initially came to light in July 2018 when a California school groundskeeper filed suit against Monsanto.

Dewayne “Lee” Johnson received $289 million in punitive and compensatory damages from a California jury, but a judge later reduced the award to $78 million. Johnson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after having used Roundup for many years while caring for schools’ landscaping needs.

The emails were brought forth again in a lawsuit brought forth by Alva and Alberta Pilliod, both of whom were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after using Roundup for decades on their personal properties. A California jury awarded the Pilliods $2 billion in damages in May 2019.

In one email, Monsanto’s Goldstein appears to reply to his Monsanto colleagues who must have expressed reservations over using ACSH praise.

In response to their hesitation, Goldstein in part wrote back, “I am well aware of the challenges with ACSH and know Eric has valid concerns – so I can assure you I am not all starry-eyed about ACSH – they have PLENTY of warts – but: you WILL NOT GET A BETTER VALUE FOR YOUR DOLLAR than ACSH: They are working with us to respond if needed to IARC…”

According to Business Insider, Monsanto is currently facing more than 13,000 Roundup lawsuits in the U.S. alone. Farmers, gardeners, groundskeepers and landscapers are most often the plaintiffs in the cases. The named Roundup cancer is almost always non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, but there are studies that indicate that the so-called inert ingredients mixed with glyphosate that makeup Roundup create a toxic soup. POEA is listed as an inert ingredient, but it is a surfactant that helps the glyphosate absorb into the plant rather than just run off the waxy leaves.

According to Researcher Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen Normandy, France, testing exclusively glyphosate without Roundup’s other ingredients doesn’t supply an accurate picture of Roundup’s chemical dangers.

“Adjuvants (other ingredients) are almost always declared as inert and their identity and quantity relative to the total formulation are kept confidential,” said Seralini in a 2015 report published in the Journal of Biological Physics and Chemistry. “This also places public health at risk according to our discoveries.”

If you or a loved one developed cancer after using Roundup as a farm worker or home gardener, you may have a legal claim. Legal migrant farm workers may also seek help. Learn more by filling out the form on this page for a FREE case evaluation.

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