First there was this famous court case of Mr. Dewayne Johnson versus Monsanto, that ended in a historically significant first of its kind verdict in favour of Johnson, declaring Monsanto’s weed killer with glyphosate to be potentially hazardous to human health and that Monsanto had knowingly hidden the potential danger from its literature, thus failing to alert the user sufficiently, which in turn resulted in Johnson getting terminally ill with cancer.
And now, there is this second case, of Wade versus Monsanto, for pretty much similar issues. Monsanto’s efforts to have the case summarily dismissed has failed. Further, Monsanto’s efforts to block the details of the soon to be started proceedings from being broadcast to the public has also failed. Barring specific items that should not be broadcast, such as jury selection, the entire court proceedings may be preserved through audio and video recordings, for broadcast to the public.
These open the floodgates for all other patients that believe they contracted their illness from glyphosate, due to the maker hiding the danger inherent in products that use glyphosate, either from Monsanto, or any other vendor.
All this however, leaves a very big question unanswered, in my mind. The job of most product manufacturer has been to highlight good sides of their product and downplay potential questionable sides. The job of exposing the potential undesirable effects, and of judging if the product is safe enough for public release, is that of the Government, and not of the product manufacturer. IN the case of USA, that job belongs to the Environment Protection Agency, or EPA in short.
I believe EPA is extremely corrupt and regularly fails to raise the alarm adn block approval of dangly unfit products such as Monsanto’s weed killer. I believe EPA is the first candidate that deserves to be sued by the people. I believe the very approval of any biocide made with glyphosate needs to be overturned. I believe EPA should be stripped of its responsibility in approving pesticides because it is unfit to carry out its job.
I also believe the above paragraph is likely a fools dream that is not going to bear fruit because, to make it happen, the people of the US will have to turn its focus away from rogue corporations such as Monsanto, and refocus on rogue government agencies such as EPA.
Not only that, the people will have to understand that this is not a Democrat versus Republican issue, and that a vast majority of their House representatives and Senators are on the take from the industry. The industry effectively controls all three branches of the Government today – the Executive, the Legislative as well as the Judiciary all the way to the Supreme Court. Legal victories such as Dewayne Johnsons are a drop in the bucket, more an exception that proves the rule.
Meanwhile in Canada, there are also looming class action lawsuits against Monsanto/Bayer, and also, more hopefully, against Health Canada, the EPA equivalent arm of the US Government in approval of pesticides containing biocides such as glyphosate.
Mary Lou McDonald’s court challenge through her NGO Safe Food Matters, against Health Canada, therefore, is a more important aspect of the legal challenge focussed correctly, against the government regarding wrongful steps taken in approval of glyphosate.
As long as the people of the US fail to do their primary task, as long as they continue to waste their time, money and focus on effort to find a saviour such as Vandana Shiva, Jeffry Smith, Robert Kennedy Jr, or even Jesus Christ or Budhha, the status quo will continue. The only way to save the country is for each and every one to stop looking for some one else’s shoulder to fire from, and to step up to the plate and do what each can do within his or her capacity, to resist the degradation of their democratic system. To believe that someone else will fight your battle, is why the situation has gotten as shitty as it is now, and trust me, it is going to get much worse.
Borrowing another phrase from the Missionary priests, athough I am a Hindu born atheist – God helps those that help themselves.
Borrowing and tweaking a quote from John Kenney, I would day – ask not what heroes and heroines, such as Vandana Shiva, or Robert Kennedy, or Jeffrey Smith or anybody else, even Micky Mouse, can do to fight not just glyphosate, but the degradation of your democratic system that puts you in this distress. Ask instead what you can do yourself, without their or anybody else’s help, within your own capacity, to resist this attack on your citizen’s rights.
People do not need to be groupies to hang around other famous folks. People do not need to do oohs and aah about someone else that talks about or does something about fighting the system. If they deserve your admiration and respect, then show it by doing something like them yourself. Be an activist, not a wallflower.
Your first task is to fight for these institutions, which is to ensure you have clean and uncorrupted legislature, clean Judiciary and clean White House. Otherwise your country will be flushed down the toilet. And the US will take much of the rest of the planet along with it as it goes down the tube.
