Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Monsanto in Glyphosate Labeling Case, Justice Gorsuch Dissents
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of Monsanto, the manufacturer of the popular weedkiller Roundup, in a case centered on the labeling of its product. The majority opinion insulated Monsanto and its corporate parent Bayer from claims in state courts that the company failed to warn consumers about the potential carcinogenicity of glyphosate, Roundup's active ingredient. The case, Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, involved John Durnell, who had previously won a claim in Missouri for Monsanto's failure to warn. Monsanto argued that no state had the authority to require a Roundup cancer warning due to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act's (FIFRA) preemption clause, which states that states cannot impose labeling requirements different from those required by FIFRA. Since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deemed glyphosate non-carcinogenic, the Court, by a 7-2 majority, agreed with Monsanto. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch joined Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson's dissent.
