What's new
  • Please note members who been with us for more than 10 years have been upgraded to "Veteran" status and will receive exclusive benefits. If you wish to find out more about this or support IcMag and get same benefits, check this thread here.
  • Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!

Monsanto's 'cancer-causing' weedkiller destroyed my life, dying man tells court

Gypsy Nirvana

Recalcitrant Reprobate -
Administrator
Veteran
Monsanto's 'cancer-causing' weedkiller destroyed my life, dying man tells court

Dewayne Johnson said that if he had known what he knew now about Roundup weedkiller, “I would’ve never sprayed that product on school grounds ... if I knew it would cause harm ... It’s unethical.”

Johnson, a former school groundskeeper in northern California who is terminally ill, was testifying Monday in his landmark suit against Monsanto about the cancer risks of the company’s popular weedkiller. He is the first person to take the agrochemical company to trial over allegations that the chemical sold under the Roundup brand is linked to cancer.


Landmark lawsuit claims Monsanto hid cancer danger of weedkiller for decades.

He spoke for the first time during the trial in San Francisco, detailing his use of Monsanto’s products, his extensive exposure to herbicides, and his belief that the chemicals caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a blood cell cancer. He also described the suffering he endured as skin lesions took over his body.

“I’ve been going through a lot of pain,” said Johnson, a father of three who goes by the name Lee. “It really takes everything out of you ... I’m not getting any better.”

His doctors have said he may have just months to live.

Johnson’s lawyers have argued in court that Monsanto has “fought science” over the years and worked to “bully” researchers who have raised concerns about potential health risks of its herbicide product. At the start of the trial, the attorneys presented internal Monsanto emails that they said revealed the corporation’s repeated efforts to ignore expert’s warnings while seeking favorable scientific analyses and helping to “ghostwrite” positive papers.

Thousands have brought similar legal claims across the US, and a federal judge in California ruled this month that hundreds of cancer survivors or those who lost loved ones can also proceed to trial. Johnson’s case has attracted international attention, with the judge allowing his team to present scientific arguments about glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide.

Monsanto has continued to assert that Roundup, which is registered in 130 countries and approved for use on more than 100 crops, is safe and not linked to cancer, despite studies suggesting the contrary. Notably, the World Health Organization’s international agency for research on cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans” in 2015, a decision that has been central at the trial.

Johnson, 46, took the stand in a crowded courtroom and said he was excited when he first got a job as a groundskeeper and pest manager for the school district in Benicia, a suburb north of San Francisco. Part of the work, which began in 2012, involved spraying herbicide to control weeds on school grounds – sometimes for several hours a day.

Although he wore extensive protective gear while spraying, he was often exposed to the Roundup and Ranger Pro chemicals, both glyphosate-based Monsanto products, due to “drift”, he testified.

“You were getting it on your face everyday,” he said. “It was kind of unavoidable.”

Monsanto has continued to assert that Roundup is safe.

Johnson described two incidents in which he said he was badly exposed to the chemicals due to mishaps and leaking while spraying, including a hose breaking.

“It got on my clothes, got on everything,” he said of one incident, noting that prior to his cancer, he had “perfect skin”, but after he started spraying and suffered exposures, he got sick and began seeing rashes, lesions and sores all over his body. “I’ve had it bad everywhere.”

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2014.

“It was a very scary, confusing time, and I didn’t know what was happening,” said Johnson, who also recounted his calls to Monsanto seeking information about possible risks, and the lack of responses or cancer warnings from the company.

“It’s so tough when you can’t work, you can’t provide for your family,” added Johnson, who said he would be doing another round of chemotherapy in less than a month.


Monsanto 'bullied scientists' and hid weedkiller cancer risk, lawyer tells court.

Araceli Johnson, Dewayne’s wife, also offered emotional testimony in court on Monday, saying she now has two jobs at a local school district and a nursing home, sometimes working 14-hour days.

“It’s very stressful. It’s just too much for me to explain how I really feel,” she said, recounting the cancer diagnosis and aftermath. “My world just shut down. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t clean. I couldn’t do anything.”

His wife recalled the worst moments of chemotherapy when her husband struggled to get out of bed and make it to his uncle’s funeral: “He just starts crying … and saying, ‘I just wanna die.’ And that broke my heart.”

Araceli also talked about their two sons, ages 10 and 13, and said she has had a hard time explaining their father’s cancer. Her message to them, she said, has been: “He’s just very sick … Spend time with him. Get to know your dad.”

In a statement to the Guardian, Monsanto noted studies that have found Roundup is safe, adding: “We have empathy for anyone suffering from cancer, but the scientific evidence clearly shows that glyphosate was not the cause.”

https://www.theguardian.com/busines...ial-dewayne-johnson-cancer-roundup-weedkiller
 

Dog Star

Active member
Veteran
Problem is that Monsanto easy pay fine and goes further operating.. agro industry
and pharma industry have licence to kill and no body will stop them to do so..

they trive on people ignorance..
 

P-NUT

Active member
Veteran
Problem is who ya gonna go after? Millions of people probably own stock in them and dont even know it due to their retirement funds. The high up executives probably live in a gated and guarded community. Wish there was a way to make the guilty pay but the system is fucked and nobody is ever held responsible.
 

MrBungle

Active member
It makes you wonder why they would go to such extremes to cover up something so obvious... instead of doing the right thing and figuring out how to make a less hazardous product
 

dufous

Well-known member
The scientist who said that vaccines caused autism ...

turned out to be taking money from lawyers planning to sue the vaccine companies.

The scientist who says that roundup causes cancer ...

was taking money from lawyers planning to sue Monsanto.

And he lied about taking the money.

Just sayin', there's lies and corruption on both sides of these cases.
 

bigtacofarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
I thought the retired the round up brand and are now Bayer? I would like to see them escorted off the planet, along with any company remotely associated with them. Scotts, hawthorn group, GH and so on. Good riddens.

Not like it will happen. But we can hope.
 

kaochiu

Well-known member
Veteran
The funny bit are the rules for getting rid of the empty containers, like any dangerous hazardous waste. Ain't that suspicious enough? If it touches the water, fish are fucked. Even worse than adding soda to a single malt whiskey.
I took over a 30 hectares farm eight years ago, first thing i found was several containers of roundup, which i gave to the waste company and ever since i've used zero, and i mean zero chemicals. I won't say i don't have troubles with brambles and nettles, but nothing a brush cutter and a few hours work won't do, much better.
Roundup is not even a solution. If you use it, you will have to use it again next year. The season you stop, it all comes back with fury. Brushcutting at the right time gives the good grass a better chance to colonize the ground and after a few seasons all it takes is some light gardening to keep everything prime. Now i can say.
So, in my understanding, both dangerous and a rip off. I'm not surprised about it as a cancer inductor, it's understandable, trust your nose if you come any close. The stench is alien, and i'm sure it doesn't taste like chicken, although that i wouldn't try.
Dioscorides said there is not poison, but dose. Then, the dose of roundup must be atomical size. Otherwise, fuckin poison, Dioscorides.
Try again, Monstanto... i mean...it's called Bayer! How nice, like the aspirins! must be all safe now.
 

Weird

3rd-Eye Jedi
Veteran
ironic that people are shocked that big corporations control scientific information and laws through money


take a look at the eagle20 threads and ask yourself how many people have integrity?



and those who did, how much resistance do they get?


and what is the standard argument? we are already subject to toxins or it isn't toxic enough to matter


people wonder why my posts are so sharp
 

Weird

3rd-Eye Jedi
Veteran
I thought the retired the round up brand and are now Bayer? I would like to see them escorted off the planet, along with any company remotely associated with them. Scotts, hawthorn group, GH and so on. Good riddens.

Not like it will happen. But we can hope.


bayer is eagle20
 

bigtacofarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
Not shocked. What is shocking is that when the public notices that a company is treating the health of our planet or species as a money making opportunity and defend themselves with military type strength. That the public still gives them money and allows them to operate. It has been obvious the Monsanto and many others are run by some of the shadiest characters known to man, for a long time. People keep giving them money. So much that the keep getting bigger. And buying up or destroying anything in their path. So much that if you research the network of companies needed to avoid paying these asshole to kill us. 95% or so of any packaged food, vegetable seeds and even the 2 biggest grow equipment suppliers (Hydrofarm and Sunlight supply). It is now to the point that unless you make a very calculated effort most people are funding the poison almost evertime they buy anything.

Try and compete or force them to fix their ways and you stand an actual risk of being raided or even murdered.

Really.
 

bigtacofarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
bayer is eagle20

http://fortune.com/2018/06/04/bayer-monsanto-merger-name/

Same. They own everything. Look at their website. And hawthorne group, and scotts and miracle grow. If you tie all the different companies together its crazy how many ways the get paid.
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
Cracks me up the way people blame Monsanto for everything.

No one is forcing them to eat roundup. They eat it because they are fucking stupid and have no clue what they are eating. Those same morons eat at McDonalds and think the burger is 100% beef. LMAO


If you give a monkey a gun and he shoots someone, do you blame the monkey?

How can you blame Monsanto for being smart enough to convince you eat poison.

I don't suppose these idiots ever considered that if they stop eating the foods with Roundup in them, the farmers will eventually stop growing food with roundup and Monsanto will stop selling it.

It's all about profit. You take the profit away, they have no incentive to make it.

The real problem lies with the fact that the common people are way too fucking stupid and way too fucking lazy to actually put in the effort to determine if the food they eat is 'Rounded" or not. As long as that situation exists, SOME COMPANY (Monsanto or not) is going to take advantage of that stupidity to make MONEY.

So, keep eating it and keep screaming about how it's killing you.... My Bayer stock is skyrocketing.
 

bigtacofarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
Cracks me up the way people blame Monsanto for everything.

No one is forcing them to eat roundup. They eat it because they are fucking stupid and have no clue what they are eating. Those same morons eat at McDonalds and think the burger is 100% beef. LMAO


If you give a monkey a gun and he shoots someone, do you blame the monkey?

How can you blame Monsanto for being smart enough to convince you eat poison.

I don't suppose these idiots ever considered that if they stop eating the foods with Roundup in them, the farmers will eventually stop growing food with roundup and Monsanto will stop selling it.

It's all about profit. You take the profit away, they have no incentive to make it.

The real problem lies with the fact that the common people are way too fucking stupid and way too fucking lazy to actually put in the effort to determine if the food they eat is 'Rounded" or not. As long as that situation exists, SOME COMPANY (Monsanto or not) is going to take advantage of that stupidity to make MONEY.

So, keep eating it and keep screaming about how it's killing you.... My Bayer stock is skyrocketing.

Bayer and friends have no respect for the planet. They do infact own or are related to almost any food product most people purchase. My family has gone out of our way to carefully give them as few dollars as possible and inform everyone we know. Some of them even care. I have been to some small town with no food at all not related to the Monsanto group. So everyone in those communities has no choice. Thats fucked to say the least.

Thank you for sharing your dirty secret. Knowingly profiting off the health of your species and planet. Talk about lack of integrety.
 

Weird

3rd-Eye Jedi
Veteran
Cracks me up the way people blame Monsanto for everything.

No one is forcing them to eat roundup. They eat it because they are fucking stupid and have no clue what they are eating. Those same morons eat at McDonalds and think the burger is 100% beef. LMAO


If you give a monkey a gun and he shoots someone, do you blame the monkey?

How can you blame Monsanto for being smart enough to convince you eat poison.

I don't suppose these idiots ever considered that if they stop eating the foods with Roundup in them, the farmers will eventually stop growing food with roundup and Monsanto will stop selling it.

It's all about profit. You take the profit away, they have no incentive to make it.

The real problem lies with the fact that the common people are way too fucking stupid and way too fucking lazy to actually put in the effort to determine if the food they eat is 'Rounded" or not. As long as that situation exists, SOME COMPANY (Monsanto or not) is going to take advantage of that stupidity to make MONEY.

So, keep eating it and keep screaming about how it's killing you.... My Bayer stock is skyrocketing.






really?



they suppress information about the true nature of their products which have no mechanism to prevent abuse and negative environmental fate and because you are making money it is the consumer


it is great until you watch someone you love die because of a cancer from exposure to environmental toxins that are byproducts of corporate profits



I can't tell you how disappointing it is to know there are people like this here


this is why you can't trust corporate weed
 

bigtacofarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
really?



they suppress information about the true nature of their products which have no mechanism to prevent abuse and negative environmental fate and because you are making money it is the consumer


it is great until you watch someone you love die because of a cancer from exposure to environmental toxins that are byproducts of corporate profits



I can't tell you how disappointing it is to know there are people like this here


this is why you can't trust corporate weed

You are surrounded by meatheads that care about themselves so much more than others. As if they are so cool they can make and grow everthing they use in the world with out the help of other. Its selfish and possibly even a form of retardation. Educate the ones you can. Shun the others.
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
I watched my Dad die from alcoholism and I don't blame Seagrams. LMAO

Today's world is all about blaming someone else for your own lack of effort. People die. So what. It's a part of life. Some die young and some die old. Some die from cancer and some die from murder. What the fuck is the difference. They're dead, Jim. LOL

I care about others. I care about how fucking stupid they are and how their stupidity makes my life even more miserable than it already is. Yeah, I care about others. If I could blink my eyes and kill every bi-ped on the planet... well, let's just say you're all lucky I can't LMAO

And, if any one of you think you are better or different than Monsanto.... you're not. You're the same greedy, lying, opposing digit, bi-pedal, piece of crap that every other human is. You would kill your Mother for a dollar.... just like Monsanto.

Not my fault, it was like that when I got here. I just happen to notice it. LOL

The planet belongs to the animals. If you really want a better world, kill all the humans.
 

Weird

3rd-Eye Jedi
Veteran
sorry not everyone is an apathetic asshole



same problem with agrochemicals we have with plastics



they are not compatible with our environment and it is not a sustainable practice



if you don't give a fuck because you are comfortable with your life don't advertise it like it you really give a fuck because if you did you wouldn't justify apathy



I am not like montasano I sacrifice my own enrichment before I do so at their expense



not everyone is a selfish piece of shit but those who are justify it the same way


it is called cognitive bias a common paradigm of the mind detrimental to mankind but since it feels right to the individual they rarely question it
 

Ringodoggie

Well-known member
Premium user
So, because my opinion is different than yours, I am an [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] apathetic asshole[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] (as you called me). I think it's against the rules to attack another member simply because his opinion is not the same as yours, dredlocks.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Close minded mono-thinking people like yourself are the first ones I would 'blink". LMAO Consider yourself lucky to be alive. ;)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I love Monsanto. They make me a great profit. If it is at the expense of people like you, I'm OK with that. As long as they don't kill dogs or squirrels. :)
[/FONT]
 

bigtacofarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
Segrams is advertised and sold to adults. Every adult has had a fair chance to here about the dangers of alcohol. And at no time has segrams make an effort to rule the food supply of the planet. Try to compare if you want. Makes you look genius.

It is unfortunate you not only feel the way you do but are also willing to justify or defend it.
 
Top