Monsanto Has Been Found Guilty of Chemical Poisoning

Reports say that the 47 year old farmer sued Monsanto in 2004 after  inhaling the Lasso product while cleaning his sprayer tank equipment. Soon  after, Francois had symptoms that prevented him from working. The reason  Monsanto is getting caught out this time is because the Lasso’s packaging did  not have adequate warnings about the dangers of exposure. The French court  agreed with the claims and evidence presented, declaring earlier this year that “Monsanto is responsible for Paul Francois’ suffering and must entirely  compensate him.” The court is said to be looking for expert opinions on how to  gauge Francois’ losses in order to determine how much Monsanto should be  required to pay.

“It is a historic decision in so far as it is the first time that a  (pesticide) maker is found guilty of such a poisoning,” said Francois Lafforgue,  Paul Francois’ lawyer, to Reuters.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to  alachlor can cause damage to the liver, kidneys, spleen, eyes, and could lead to  the development of anemia or even cancer. (http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/alachlor.cfm)

In 2007, France banned Lasso in the country in accordance with a European  Union (EU) directive enacted in 2006 prohibiting the chemical from further use  on crops in any member countries. Despite the evidence shows alachlor can  disrupt hormonal balance, reproductive or developmental problems, cancer, and  still the chemical is still being used on crops throughout the U.S. to this very  day. (http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_ChemReg.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35160)