Agricultural groups have broadly welcomed a Federal Court finding that common weedkiller Roundup cannot be proven to cause cancer, saying it reinforces its safety for use in food production.
Justice Michael Lee ruled on July 25 there was not enough evidence to say glyphosate—the active ingredient in Roundup—was capable of causing non-Hodgkin lymphoma in humans.
A class action led by Maurice Blackburn included more than 800 Australian cancer patients.
Glyphosate is one of the most common products farmers and home gardeners use to kill weeds, and is registered by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicine Authority.
“The decision from the Federal Court ... reinforces that our regulator is doing its job to ensure the health and safety of our farmers, communities, and environment,” National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke said in a statement.
Bayer, which acquired Roundup’s producer Monsanto in 2018, welcomed the ruling and described it as a win for farmers.
“These products support farmers in doing what they do best—putting food on the tables of Australians,” managing director Warren Inwood said.
Maurice Blackburn lawyer Lee Taylor said they would review the judgment 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.
GrainGrowers boss Shona Gawel said glyphosate enables growers to control weeds without needing to plough or till the soil and is widely used in the industry.
“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.
Andrew Weidemann, a Victorian grower from Grain Producers Australia, said the decision reinforced the herbicide’s safety for use in food production.
“Ninety-six percent of farmers across Australia would be all using glyphosate somewhere in their farming operation,” he told AAP.
CropLife Australia also 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 U.S. Agricultural Health Study,” CropLife chief executive Matthew Cossey said.
“Since 1993, the U.S. 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.”
A spokesman for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority said the body would consider the judge’s decision.
