West Australian farm leaders rejoice as landmark glyphosate class action is dismissed

WA farming leaders are “beyond relieved” after a landmark class action in the Federal Court failed to prove the herbicide Roundup and its key ingredient glyphosate causes cancer. Justice Michael Lee handed down his judgment in the case against the widely-used weedkiller on Thursday, July 25. The civil class action, launched by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, claimed Roundup’s active ingredient caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma in more than 800 Australian patients. But Justice Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove glyphosate was carcinogenic. Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA president Tony Seabrook described glyphosate as “the best chemical that’s ever been visited on agriculture” but feared more challenges would follow. “Without any shadow of a doubt, it has conferred the greatest benefit of any chemical that agriculture has had offered to it,” he told Countryman. “I’m way beyond relieved, but they’ll have another go. They can’t help themselves, they’ll have another go.” A spokesman for Maurice Blackburn told media it would be “carefully reviewing the judgment”. It comes after similar cases were heard in the US, which saw Bayer — which acquired Roundup’s producer Monsanto in 2018 — settle almost 100,000 lawsuits at a cost of AU$16.5 billion. Mr Seabrook said it was infuriating that the debate over glyphosate “keeps rearing its head”. “I cannot believe that we’ve had to go through another procession of court cases because of a small activist group trying to beat up a story about the best chemical that’s ever been visited on agriculture,” he said. “If you want me to go back to killing the weeds the way we used to, I’m ready to do it. I’ve still got all the gear — the plow, the scarify, the cultivate — and if you want me to smash the soils of my farm into pieces trying to kill weeds, you go ahead and ban glyphosate. “Yields will fall. The short sightedness of these people climbing on this bandwagon is dazzling.” Glyphosate is one of the most common products used by farmers worldwide to combat invasive weeds. It is often associated with no or minimal till farming, a practice which preserves soil structure and is more productive and sustainable. WAFarmers president John Hassell said the ruling was a welcome “reprieve” for grain growers. “Not only is it (till farming) totally inefficient when it comes to fossil fuel usage, it actually harms the structure of the soil and makes it prone to blowing away,” he said. “So do we want to go back to the dust bowl days? This is the bit that activists don’t understand — and we do know that it’s a safe chemical. I’ve been using for 40 years and yes, I do spill it on myself every now and then, and it hasn’t done me much harm.” Glyphosate-based herbicides have been rigorously tested in hundreds of studies and are safe when used as directed according to Bayer. The National Farmers’ Federation also welcomed the ruling, saying in a statement that farmers put their faith in the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority (APVMA) to determine what products they could safely use. “The decision from the Federal Court today reinforces that our regulator is doing its job to ensure the health and safety of our farmers, communities and environment,” an NFF spokesperson said. GrainGrowers Limited chief executive Shona Gawel said the class action went against the APVMA’s “robust scientific risk assessment”. She said the ruling highlighted the importance of science-based regulation. “While the decision does not impact the immediate registration and use of glyphosate, it publicly reinforces a farming tool that is used by growers for Australian cropping conditions,” Ms Gawel said. “A loss of access to this product would require growers to adopt a different, more complicated approach to weed management, as there is not currently a comparable weed control option available.” Ms Gawel said Australian growers were among the world’s lowest users of crop protection products and took the use of chemicals “very seriously”. Justice Lee was only required to consider the question of general causation of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was not required to consider the specific claims of lead applicant Kelvin McNickle or other class action group members. McNickle had worked for his family’s vegetation management business for 20 years during which he alleged exposure to two of Monsanto’s Roundup products led to a later diagnosis.