Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning in FranceBy Marion Douet
PARIS | Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:44pm IST(http://s3.amazonaws.com/readers/2010/04/22/poisoned_1.jpg)
Image Credit (http://healthmad.com/health/poisoning-and-accidental-drug-overdose/)Quote(Reuters) - A French court on Monday declared U.S. biotech giant Monsanto(MON.N) guilty of chemical poisoning of a French farmer, a judgment that could lend weight to other health claims against pesticides.
In the first such case heard in court in France, grain grower Paul Francois says he suffered neurological problems including memory loss, headaches and stammering after inhaling Monsanto's (MON.N) Lasso weedkiller in 2004.
He blames the agri-business giant for not providing adequate warnings on the product label.
The ruling was given by a court in Lyon, southeast France, which ordered an expert opinion of Francois's losses to establish the sum of damages.
Lawyers for Monsanto could not immediately be reached for comment.
Previous health claims from farmers have foundered because of the difficulty of establishing clear links between illnesses and exposure to pesticides.
"I am alive today, but part of the farming population is going to be sacrificed and is going to die because of this," Francois, 47, told Reuters.
He and other farmers suffering from illness set up an association last year to make a case that their health problems should be linked to their use of crop protection products.
The agricultural branch of the French social security system says that since 1996, it has gathered farmers' reports of sickness potentially related to pesticides, with about 200 alerts a year.
Monsanto guilty of chemical poisoning in France (http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/02/13/france-pesticides-monsanto-idINDEE81C0FQ20120213)
Im happy it turned out that way(well, sorry for those poor fellows)as I remember watching a document that showed this farmer and his symptoms. And I remember thinking that the responsible will somehow get away of poisoning those people.
Points for justice on this one ;D
I'm with You, WW. Happy the French courts ruled the way they did. Not so happy there were victims.