Monsanto Going Down? Is That Even Possible?

Monsanto has been ordered to pay $289 million after it was found guilty of failing to warn a groundskeeper that their Roundup weed killing product might cause cancer. So, is Monsanto Going Down?

If you don’t know, Monsanto is an agrochemical giant that makes seeds and weed-killers, which it distributes around the world.

No one before has ever dared to take on this giant. It took a small-town attorney from Orange, Virginia to take on the case and defeat them.

This unprecedented win was an uphill battle for Dwayne Johnson and his attorney.

Dwayne Johnson

46, diagnosed with terminal cancer, is the first to take Monsanto on in an epic David vs. Goliath trial.

In this trial, he was able to get the jury to find that Monsanto “acted with malice or oppression”.

Johnson became sick with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma after being a groundskeeper for a school outside San Francisco for two years.

In this trial, the jury also concluded that Roundup and Ranger Pro products presented a substantial danger to Johnson. Jurors also believed Monsanto knew or should have known the potential dangers its products possess.

Bayer, who has owned Monsanto since May, is appealing the verdict and is saying its products are not dangerous according to numerous studies conducted. The result of these studies supports the fact that glyphosate which is in their product does not cause cancer and did not cause Mr. Johnson’s cancer, and this is the main reason for the possibility of Monsanto going down.

Many more are not happy with Monsanto and because of Johnson who has laid the path, more similar allegations coming in. There are 1000’s of complaints against the company already, with more cases scheduled.

It wasn’t just about money for Johnson, who is terminally ill. Johnson wanted more than anything to educate the world about Roundup and the side effects from using such chemicals. If he gets it his way, he will have Monsanto going down.

Johnson has always been concerned especially as he was spraying around children. Johnson, long before he was diagnosed with cancer, had called Monsanto’s call center on two separate occasions in order to find out more information about the health risks. Each time being told there was nothing to worry about.

The hope, in this case, is that educates the government around the world to really start cracking down on the usage of such sprays. But for this one, it looks like Monsanto going down.

Imagine our kids saying to us in 20 years, “I can’t believe you used to use that weed spray on your crops?” just like how we can’t believe our parents smoked cigarettes on planes!