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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Katherine Paul, katherine@organicconsumers.org

Monsanto Loses Landmark Case Roundup Weedkiller Case; Jury Awards $290M to Cancer Victim

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued this statement in response to today's verdict in the case of

FINLAND, MINNESOTA

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) today issued this statement in response to today's verdict in the case of Dewayne Johnson vs. Monsanto Co., awarding $290 million in damages to plaintiff Dewayne Johnson, a former school groundskeeper who, after being required to spray Monsanto's Roundup herbicide, is terminally ill with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

"This verdict proves that when ordinary citizens, in this case a jury of 12, hear the facts about Monsanto's products, and the lengths to which this company has gone to buy off scientists, deceive the public and influence government regulatory agencies, there is no confusion," said Ronnie Cummins, OCA's international director. "This is a company that has always put profits ahead of public safety, and today, Monsanto has finally been held accountable."

"We hope that this is just the first of many defeats for Monsanto, and that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will pull this product off the market immediately. In the meantime, OCA looks forward to the next steps in our own lawsuit against Monsanto, for misleading consumers about the safety of Roundup for humans and pets. And we are grateful to Mr. Johnson for bravely facing down the 'most evil corporation' in the world."

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots 501(c)3 nonprofit public interest organization, and the only organization in the U.S. focused exclusively on promoting the views and interests of the nation's estimated 50 million consumers of organically and socially responsibly produced food and other products. OCA educates and advocates on behalf of organic consumers, engages consumers in marketplace pressure campaigns, and works to advance sound food and farming policy through grassroots lobbying. We address crucial issues around food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability, including pesticide use, and other food- and agriculture-related topics.