Farms around the world could lose their go-to weed-fighter any day now.
Driving the news: Bayer — the parent company of the world’s top weed-killer, Roundup — says it will stop selling the herbicide unless it can get legal protection from lawsuits alleging that the main component of the product, glyphosate, can cause cancer.
- Bayer, which has already paid out US$10 billion in settlements over health issues tied to Roundup, faces over 67,000 pending cases making similar claims.
- In Canada, there has been a flurry of cancer-related legal cases, including a $1.2 billion class-action lawsuit that was certified at the end of 2023.
Catch-up: Glyphosate has been used in Canada since the 1970s and was reapproved by Health Canada as recently as 2022. But, earlier this year, a federal court ruled that the agency had ignored recent studies about the harmfulness of the chemical and must launch a new review.
- The chemical has already been partially or entirely banned in several countries, including Mexico, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Vietnam.
Why it matters: Up to 55,000 Canadian farmers rely on glyphosate to protect their crops. Without it, many of them will likely have to use more expensive products or face crop losses, both of which could lead to higher food prices.
- One report found that without glyphosate, food inflation in the U.S. could jump by 240%, amounting to a $10 billion jump in grocery costs for Americans.
Bottom line: There are alternatives to glyphosate, some of which are already being used in Canada, but they don’t come cheap and could add to shoppers’ already costly grocery bills.—LA