Bayer Statement on Opening of Pilliod Trial in JCCP

The following is Bayer’s statement regarding the commencement of the Pilliod glyphosate-based herbicide trial before Judge Winifred Smith in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Alameda. This is the first case in the glyphosate JCCP coordinated proceeding to go to trial.

“While we have great sympathy for the plaintiffs, Roundup is not the cause of their illnesses. An extensive body of science and the conclusions of expert regulators worldwide support that glyphosate-based herbicides can be used safely and are not carcinogenic.”

“Glyphosate-based herbicides have been used safely and successfully for over four decades worldwide and are a valuable tool to help farmers deliver crops to markets and practice sustainable farming by reducing soil tillage, soil erosion and carbon emissions. Regulatory authorities around the world consider glyphosate-based herbicides as safe when used as directed. There is an extensive body of research on glyphosate and glyphosate-based herbicides, including more than 800 rigorous studies submitted to EPA, European and other regulators in connection with the registration process, that confirms that these products are safe when used as directed. Notably, the largest and most recent epidemiologic study – the 2018 independent National Cancer Institute-supported long-term study that followed over 50,000 pesticide applicators for more than 20 years and was published after the IARC monograph – found no association between glyphosate-based herbicides and cancer. Additionally, EPA’s 2017 post-IARC cancer risk assessment examined more than 100 studies the agency considered relevant and concluded that glyphosate is ‘not likely to be carcinogenic to humans,’ its most favorable rating. As Health Canada noted in a very recent statement, ‘no pesticide regulatory authority in the world currently considers glyphosate to be a cancer risk to humans at the levels at which humans are currently exposed.’”