After man wins cancer lawsuit, new bill could protect pesticide companies
A bill waiting on the desk of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has drawn criticism from those supporting the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, who claim it would impede lawsuits against pesticide companies.
Georgia SB 144 would “clarify that a manufacturer cannot be held liable for failing to warn consumers of health risks above those required by the United States Environmental Protection Agency with respect to pesticides,” reads the bill.
Emma Post, a spokesperson for MAHA Action based in Los Angeles, told Fox News Digital, “The bill is literally making America sick again.”
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The legislation comes as Bayer Monsanto, producer of the Roundup weed killer, was ordered last week by a Georgia jury to pay nearly $2.1 billion in damages to a man who says the product caused his cancer, according to reports.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long been a vocal critic of Roundup, working with his legal team in 2018 to award $289 million to a man who alleged the weed killer caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
A proposed Georgia bill would shield pesticide companies from lawsuits, as a Georgia man recently won a lawsuit claiming that a weed killer caused his cancer. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Glyphosate, a pesticide used in products such as Roundup, has been shown to raise cancer risk in studies.
In a study published in the journal Mutation Research, University of Washington researchers found that exposure to the pesticide raises the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma by 41%.
Kelly Ryerson, founder of Glyphosate Facts and owner of the Instagram account @glyphosategirl, told Fox News Digital that her journey researching the herbicide began with her own health struggles.
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Ryerson, who is based in California, previously struggled with chronic illness and autoimmune issues, which she said improved when she stopped eating gluten.
After attending a medical conference at Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center, Ryerson began to question modern farming practices rather than the gluten itself.
Kelly Ryerson, founder of Glyphosate Facts, experienced chronic illness and autoimmune issues, which she said improved when she stopped eating gluten. (Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
“A lot of times, farmers are spraying Roundup on our grains right before harvest to facilitate an easier harvest,” said Ryerson.
“After that easier harvest, because everything’s dry at the same time, those crops go directly to the mill and may end up in our food supply, at really alarmingly high levels.”
Ryerson said she has been advocating against “pesticide liability shields” such as the bill in Georgia.
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“This is a terrifying thing.” She added, “All of those victims will not be able to sue.”
Amid concerns about fertility, Ryerson said she brought three sperm samples to a lab to be tested, and glyphosate was present.
“The bill is literally making America sick again.”
“It crosses the blood-test barrier. It is also shown to kill sperm,” she cautioned. “So now when you’re eating that every single day, which we all are, because it’s ubiquitous — it’s in the water. It’s in the food, it’s in the air. We can’t avoid it.”
Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals have found that glyphosate can harm sperm quality.
Farmers Dana and Lauren Cavalea of Freedom Farms in Greene, New York, told Fox News Digital that they don’t use any chemicals in their fields.
“We use the animals to restore and regenerate the land,” said Lauren Cavalea.
Two farmers in New York (not pictured) told Fox News Digital that they don’t use any chemicals in their fields. (iStock)
“[There are] other things that are outside of our control,” Dana Cavalea added. For instance, “if you have folks nearby who are using chemicals … there’s a chance they [will] get into your ground.”
He went on, “You have a lot of people who are financially distressed, trying to keep their farms going. In order to create max production, we have to use these remedies that have been provided to us in order to create mass production.”
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He noted that it is a complicated yet simple system, and that he hopes to see things change amid the MAHA movement.
A spokesperson for Monsanto/Bayer — maker of Roundup — said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the verdict in the recent Georgia case “conflicts with the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence and the consensus of regulatory bodies and their scientific assessments worldwide.”
In 2023, the EU Commission re-approved glyphosate for 10 years. (Getty Images)
Following scientific assessments in 2023, the European Union Commission re-approved glyphosate for another 10 years.
“We continue to stand fully behind the safety of Roundup products — critical tools that farmers rely on to produce affordable food and feed the world,” added the Monsanto spokesperson.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the EPA and Governor Kemp’s office for comment.
