Effects of class-action lawsuits on California glyphosate usage
Rosselle, Macy L.
Citations
Abstract
Since 2016, a slate of class action lawsuits have been filed in California against Monsanto (and its acquiring company Bayer) alleging that glyphosate has caused non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in people exposed to the pesticide. The current litigation may create liability risks for farmers who continue to use glyphosate in the wake of the lawsuits. The research presented seeks to investigate the impact of class action lawsuits on glyphosate usage in California. A dataset is compiled with annual, county-level observations on the low, average, and high use estimates of glyphosate and other pesticides in California and the rest of the U.S. between 2013-2019. Our difference-in-differences analysis suggests that in the wake of these lawsuits, glyphosate usage in California has fallen by between 38% and 80% depending on the use estimate. The decisions in the courtroom regarding glyphosate users health risks are already having a decreasing effect on agricultural production and pesticide input decisions in the real world.