The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has overturned the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) decision that glyphosate is safe for humans. The lawsuit that resulted in the decision was filed by the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and its allies in 2020, citing glyphosate’s link to cancer and other health conditions in humans, as well as glyphosate’s damaging effects to the environment and endangered species. Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto-Bayer’s Roundup product line, which is one of the most widely used pesticides in the global agrifood sector.
In its recent decision, the court unanimously agreed that "EPA did not adequately consider whether glyphosate causes cancer and shirked its duties under the Endangered Species Act." The court stated that EPA’s conclusion that glyphosate is not carcinogenic was inconsistent with epidemiological studies and laboratory animal studies. The court also asserted that EPA’s evaluation of glyphosate as a cancer-causing agent was not aligned with EPA’s own guidelines and that EPA selectively discounted evidence of glyphosate causing tumors in animal studies. EPA was directed to reassess and conclude glyphosate’s ecological toxicity, the cost of its harm to farmers, and its impact on endangered species by October 2022.