 |
| Tomato farmer Jean-Claude Terlet has blamed Monsanto's flagship weedkiller Round Up for causing his prostate cancer |
Weaving through the aisles of his greenhouse in northern France, Jean-Claude Terlet, a retired farmer who grows tomatoes for local markets, seems to be brimming with energy.
"That's
a beef tomato, they're delicious," he says, showing off his produce which,
he stresses, is 100 percent organic.
But since
he was treated for prostate cancer in 2017, the 70-year-old says he feels
constantly exhausted and has to deal with a host of other problems.
"No
sex life, that's over. And I am completely incontinent and have to wear pads
that I change two or three times a day... On a market that's pretty
uncomfortable. I feel really diminished," he said.
Convinced
his illness was caused by exposure to chemicals, he asked for urine tests as
soon as he was diagnosed.
Despite his
hunch, the results still came as a shock.
They
detected glyphosate, the chemical used in US biotech giant Monsanto's flagship
weedkiller Round Up which some studies and the World Health Organization have
labelled carcinogenic.
"I'm
convinced that that's what caused my cancer," Terlet told AFP, saying the
chemical was found at levels of 0.25 micrograms per litre of blood and that the
tests showed up no other chemicals or traces of medication.
Terlet has joined thousands of people around the world, most of them in the US, who are taking legal action against Monsanto for failing to warn users about the risks of using glyphosate.
 |
Monsanto's
Round Up, the world's most widely-used herbicide, contains glyphosate
which the
World Health Organization has labelled as carcinogenic
|
Terlet has joined thousands of people around the world, most of them in the US, who are taking legal action against Monsanto for failing to warn users about the risks of using glyphosate.
The
compensation bill could be steep.
In a
landmark ruling earlier this month, a California jury awarded a dying
groundskeeper damages of almost $290 million (335 million euros) after finding
Round Up caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Monsanto's
German parent company Bayer has vowed to appeal the ruling, saying it was
"at odds with the weight of scientific evidence".
But the
victory of plaintiff DeWayne Johnson, feted by Monsanto's critics as a
modern-day David battling a corporate Goliath, has heartened Terlet, who is
hoping for a similar finding by a French court.
The French
government, which has vowed to ban glyphosate by 2021, also hailed the
"historic" ruling and called on the US and other EU countries to join
the "war" against dangerous chemicals.
'Miracle'
chemical
Terlet, a
father-of-three from the village of Celles-sur-Aisne near Reims, a city in
northeast France, was a devotee of Round Up -- the world's most widely-used
herbicide -- for three decades.
 |
In early
August, a California court awarded dying groundskeeper Dewayne Johnson
almost
$290 million in damages after finding Round Up weed killer caused his cancer
|
He used it
to kill weeds pushing up through the stubble left in his fields after the
harvest.
"At
the time, they presented glyphosate as being a miracle product. Everyone was
buying it!" he said.
While
spraying his fields he wore only a cheap mask and gloves that failed to protect
him from the fine mist that seeped into the cab of his tractor.
"We
didn't realise the effects it could have in the medium- and long-term. And now
we're seeing them," he said.
In May
2017, his lawyers filed a complaint with prosecutors in the southern city of
Lyon, where Monsanto's parent company Bayer has its French headquarters,
accusing it of "poisoning" the pensioner.
Next month,
he will undergo tests to try establish whether his cancer is indeed linked to
his use of the herbicide.
No EU ban
yet
He is not
the first French farmer to take on Monsanto.
In the
first ruling of its kind against Monsanto anywhere in the world, a French court
in 2012 found it guilty of poisoning cereal farmer Paul Francois who said he
suffered neurological damage after inhaling fumes while using the now banned
weedkiller Lasso.
But while France has announced plans to ban glyphosate and Germany wants to heavily curtail its use, the EU has so far refrained from withdrawing its licence.
 |
In 2012, a
French court found Monsanto guilty of poisoning farmer Paul Francois
who
suffered neurological damage after using the now banned weedkiller Lasso
|
But while France has announced plans to ban glyphosate and Germany wants to heavily curtail its use, the EU has so far refrained from withdrawing its licence.
Farming
unions particularly have come out swinging against a ban, saying it would have
a disastrous effect on agricultural yields because they have no replacement for
it.
Terlet
believes that all herbicides are harmful.
In his
view, the only safe way to weed plants is by hand, "on condition that it
costs less" so as not to harm farmers' livelihoods.
Aware that
his battle against Monsanto will be long and costly, he has vowed not to back
down.
"I'm
stubborn, I'll fight it to the bitter end," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment