California Rules That Roundup Herbicide Must Carry a Cancer Warning Label; One Million People in Europe Sign Petition Against Glyphosate

Despite repeated pressure from agrochemical giant Monsanto, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has still decided to add glyphosate to its list of cancer-causing chemicals. Starting July 7, Roundup herbicide containing this active ingredient must carry a warning on its packaging when sold in California, alerting users to the product's cancer risk.

California Lists Glyphosate as a Carcinogen, Roundup Packaging Must Carry a Warning

After the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, commonly known as Proposition 65, was passed by an overwhelming majority in 1986, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has regularly updated its list of hazardous chemicals that can cause cancer or affect reproductive ability. Once an ingredient in a product is added to the list, a warning label must be provided.

After the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified glyphosate as Group 2A, "probably carcinogenic to humans," in 2015, California planned to add it to the Proposition 65 list. Monsanto, however, immediately filed a lawsuit in 2016 to block this, stating that California's action was "unconstitutional" because "the International Agency for Research on Cancer is an unelected, undemocratic, unaccountable organization, and its cancer classification has no legal force."

In fact, the expert panel at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, had already stated that its cancer classifications are not legally binding, but reminded governments and international organizations that they have a responsibility to set regulations for hazardous substances.

Monsanto sought to suspend the listing of glyphosate as a carcinogen, but California's Court of Appeal and Supreme Court both rejected the request. The Supreme Court stated: "California's addition of glyphosate to its list of carcinogens does not constitute an unconstitutional delegation of regulatory authority to a foreign body, because local residents and the legislature have already enacted the relevant law and made the political decision to list carcinogens."

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment also stated: "We will continue the process of adding glyphosate to the Proposition 65 list." In the future, herbicides such as Roundup must carry a warning on their packaging, and landscaped gardens, farms, orchards and golf courses that use glyphosate-containing herbicides beyond a certain amount must also post notices warning of the risk.

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