NewsVoice är en nättidning för oberoende nyheter, debatt och analys. Monsanto has been the topic of a lot of news lately, especially with the multi-country march that took place against it a short time ago. In what can be seen as another big victory for public health, a French court found Monsanto guilty of poisoning a French Farmer.
Paul Francois is a humble farmer who began experiencing neurological problems such as memory loss and headaches after being exposed to Monsanto’s Lasso weedkiller back in 2004. The decision reached in 2012 for this case sets a powerful precedent that can continue to help raise awareness and dismantle the ignorance that exists around Monsanto and their products, including GMO foods.
In previous cases against the pesticide giant, farmers could not prove and properly link pesticide exposure to the side effects they were having. This is not the case for Francois’s, as an expert opinion determined the sum of the damages incurred and verified the link between the Lasso pesticide and his illnesses.
After the case ruling, Reuters attempted to contact Monsanto’s lawyers, but they declined to comment.