Articles

The US Supreme Court has set an April hearing in a closely watched case brought by Bayer that seeks to make the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the ultimate arbiter of warning labels on pesticides such as the company’s popular Roundup weed killer.

Bayer has said that getting a favorable ruling from the high court is key to quashing costly nationwide litigation brought by people claiming Roundup and other Bayer herbicides caused them to develop cancer.

The Supreme Court noted in a docket entry that a hearing on the case is scheduled for April 27.

Florida officials this week unveiled test results showing multiple breads commonly sold in grocery stores contained residues of glyphosate weed killer, a chemical scientists have linked to cancer.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press release that the bread product testing is part of a broader testing program designed to “arm Floridians with the information they need to make the best choices for their families’ well-being.”

On the eve of the opening of what would have been a bellwether US trial over allegations that a widely used weed killer causes Parkinson’s disease, paraquat-maker Syngenta reached a settlement with the retired landscaper who blamed the company for his diagnosis with the incurable brain disease.

The trial, which was set to open Wednesday in Philadelphia, was to be the first public examination of evidence that Syngenta’s paraquat weed killing products can cause Parkinson’s. Syngenta’s paraquat-based Gramoxone herbicide brand is popular with US farmers.

A trial with nationwide implications is set to open Wednesday in Philadelphia pitting a retired landscaper suffering from Parkinson’s disease against the multinational agrochemical company Syngenta over accusations that the company’s paraquat weed killing products cause the incurable brain disease.

The trial was scheduled to start Monday after jurors were selected late last week, but opening statements were delayed by severe winter storm conditions. It comes as US regulators are in the middle of a years-long review of paraquat after maintaining in prior reviews that the evidence linking paraquat to Parkinson’s is insufficient. And it comes amid calls for a US ban on paraquat as well as actions in various states to block use of the pesticide. New bills seeking bans were introduced this month in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Vermont.

A leading European chemical safety institute has ousted the director of its cancer research center after the director led an extensive testing program into the safety of the pesticide glyphosate, sparking concerns about chemical industry influence into what has been an independent research institution.

Dr. Daniele Mandrioli joined the Ramazzini Institute in Bologna, Italy in 2012 and has directed the Institute’s Cesare Maltoni Cancer Research Center since 2020. The research facility conducts toxicology studies on a range of environmental substances to determine their carcinogenicity and other potential health implications.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin sparked news stories around the US last week when he tweeted that the agency had made the “proactive decision to freshly reassess” the safety of the weed killer paraquat, a controversial pesticide widely used by farmers that is linked to Parkinson’s disease.

Zeldin cited the EPA’s recognition of the “leadership” of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement in calling for stronger protections from pesticides, and attributed the decision on paraquat to “More MAHA Progress!” News outlets large and small, including the international newswire Reuters, published articles about the paraquat reassessment.

But when asked to specify what exactly the agency is doing that is new in terms of assessing paraquat, the EPA response was – essentially nothing.

The US Supreme Court said on Friday that it will take up the issue of federal preemption over pesticide warning labels, a move sought by Bayer as a means of blocking costly future litigation over the Roundup weed killer products it inherited from its purchase of Monsanto.

The high court said it will hear the case with the limitation of answering one question: “Whether the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act [FIFRA] preempts a label-based failure-to-warn claim where [the Environmental Protection Agency] EPA has not required the warning.”

Bayer celebrated the news and said it expects a decision during the Court’s 2026 session, which ends in June.

Lawmakers removed language in a 2026 federal spending bill that would’ve blocked lawsuits and limited state warnings on pesticide risks — a major win for public health advocates after intense lobbying.

TNL Editor-in-Chief Carey Gillam explains.

Read more: A “hard fight”- Pesticide industry protection stripped from appropriations bill

New US dietary guidelines released by the federal government this week received mixed reactions from the health community, with many praising the move to explicitly advise against consuming highly processed foods in favor of whole foods but others concerned about a recommendation to consume red meat, which is linked to heart disease, as well as full-fat dairy, a source of saturated fat.

The updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), published Jan. 7 by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), advise consumers to avoid foods with added sugars and highly processed foods, such as hot dogs and frozen meals that contain chemical preservatives, emulsifiers and sweeteners and other additives, aligning with a key priority of the Make America Healthy Again movement (MAHA).

In a setback for the pesticide industry, Democrats have succeeded in removing a rider from a congressional appropriations bill that would have helped protect pesticide makers from being sued and could have hindered state efforts to warn about pesticide risks.

US Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine and ranking member of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, said Monday that the controversial measure pushed by the agrochemical giant Bayer and industry allies has been stripped from the 2026 funding bill.

The move is final, as Senate Republican leaders have agreed not to revisit the issue, Pingree said.

“I just drew a line in the sand and said this cannot stay in the bill,” Pingree said in an interview, noting that she had both Republicans and some Democrats in opposition. “There has been intensive lobbying by Bayer. This has been quite a hard fight.”