Bayer ordered to pay $1.5 billion to farmers

A jury in Missouri, in the United States, sentenced the German multinational Bayer on Friday (17) to pay US$ 1.56 billion (about R$ 7.6 billion) to four people who claimed that the company’s herbicide called Roundup, the brand name for glyphosate, has caused injuries and illnesses, including cancer. The information is from the Reuters Agency.

This is the fourth consecutive defeat for the company, which released a statement after the ruling stating that it would have “solid arguments” to refute the accusations in an appeal to the American courts. After the decision was made public, Bayer shares fell 18.9% this Monday (20), reaching their lowest level in 14 years.

This is yet another judicial decision involving the controversial herbicide made up of glyphosate, a pesticide whose use is linked to cancer, according to studies by the World Health Organization (WHO), and which has been approved for use in Brazil by the National Surveillance Agency. Health (Anvisa) with restrictions.

According to the news outlet, Valorie Gunther of New York, Jimmy Draeger of Missouri and Daniel Anderson of California received a combined total of US$61.1 million in compensatory damages. and US$500 million (R$2.44 billion) each in punitive damages.

They were each diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which they claimed was caused by the use of Roundup on their family properties. Draeger’s wife, Brenda, received US$100,000 (R$489,870) for the damages she suffered from her husband’s illness.

Despite yet another defeat in court, Bayer reiterated in its statement that decades of study would have shown that the herbicide is safe for human use.

Earlier this month, Union Investment, one of Bayer’s top 10 shareholders, asked the company to consider trying to negotiate with the people suing the company to reach settlements. The company currently responds to around 50 thousand lawsuits involving the use of Roundup

Editing: Geisa Marques