The company behind Roundup is celebrating what they say is a win for Australian farmers after a judge ruled the popular herbicide does not cause cancer.
Federal Court Justice Michael Lee handed down his judgement on Thursday afternoon after a month-long class action hearing in September.
The case, launched by Maurice Blackburn, claimed Roundup's active ingredient glyphosate caused the cancer of more than 800 Australian non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients.
But Justice Lee ruled there was not enough current evidence to say glyphosate is carcinogenic and capable of causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma in humans.
Bayer, which acquired Roundup's producer Monsanto in 2018, has repeatedly said its herbicide product had been rigorously tested and was safe when used as directed.
The company's CropScience managing director Warren Inwood said Thursday's ruling was a win for Australian farmers who rely on critical farming tools like Roundup.
“These products underpin sustainable farming systems and support farmers in doing what they do best — putting food on the tables of Australians every day,” he told reporters outside court.
The class-action lawyers are considering whether to appeal the finding.
Maurice Blackburn lawyer Lee Taylor said class action members were disappointed, but the law firm would review the judge's decision before deciding on their next steps.
Justice Lee only needed to consider the question of general causation — not the specific claims of lead applicant Kelvin McNickle or the other class action group members.
The judge said the science was “not all one way” and some of the expert witnesses conceded there were possible links between glyphosate and cancer in humans.
But he ruled on the state of the evidence, and on the balance of probabilities, he could not determine there was a causal link between Roundup and cancer.
CropLife Australia welcomed the ruling, saying it was in line with every scientific regulatory authority.
“Aside from the overwhelming amount of scientific data, there are decades of lived experience in the US Agricultural Health Study,” CropLife Australia chief executive officer Matthew Cossey said.
“Since 1993, the US study has followed over 57,000 farmers and licensed pesticide applicators and confirmed that there is no association between glyphosate use and cancer of any kind."
The National Farmers’ Federation, GrainGrowers and NSW Farmers also welcomed the decision.
A spokesman for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority said they would consider the judge's decision.
– with AAP