New legal action would require the Environmental Protection Agency to immediately suspend and cancel glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. A petition filed by the Center for Food Safety, Beyond Pesticides, and four farmworker advocacy groups says glyphosate’s registration is illegal.
A lawsuit filed by the same groups last year saw a federal appeals court strike down EPA’s human health assessment because the agency wrongfully calculated glyphosate’s cancer risk. The new petition calls for the cancellation and suspension of glyphosate’s registration, contains more than 70 pages and includes more than 200 scientific citations. Glyphosate is the most widely used pesticide in the world, with about 300 million pounds applied every year in the U.S.
The groups say EPA has declined to act despite studies, including those sponsored by Monsanto, that show glyphosate has harmful effects on the liver, kidney, and reproductive system. They also say it’s a probable immune system carcinogen.
