Missouri lawmakers are once again debating how pesticide cancer warnings are handled.
The Missouri Senate could soon debate Senate Bill 1005.
State Sen. Kurtis Gregory, R-Marshall, said his bill would align state law with federal rules.
He told Missourinet that if the bill passes, the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA label would be the approved label in Missouri.
“The crux of this are driven by the failure to warn lawsuits that have come up against the product with the chemical glyphosate,” said Gregory. “We know it as Roundup. And what we don’t want to see happen is they’re the only American manufacturer of glyphosate get litigated out of business.”
Gregory told Missourinet he had a chance to sit down with the CEO of Bayer in 2023, the company that makes Roundup.
“I think they’re close to $18 billion worth of settlements now,” said Gregory. “And he said, it’s very clear from a business perspective that if this continues to go on, we will just quit manufacturing. One of the issues with that is the main place the rest of the glyphosate gets manufactured is China.”
Gregory said even if Bayer went to the EPA and said we want to a warning label for cancer on there, they would not allow that.
“And so, then you have potentially a state requirement conflicting a federal requirement,” said Gregory. “And while I have very much compassion for these cancer patients, the issue in the crux of this bill is what label should matter. And that’s the one that comes from the EPA.”
While the EPA says glyphosate is not likely to cause cancer, opponents of the bill including State Representative Mark Matthiesen argue Missouri should keep its ability to require additional warnings beyond the federal label.
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