In a defining judgement, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, situated in San Francisco, has invalidated California’s mandate for cancer warning labels on glyphosate-based weed killers.
The court, with Judge Consuelo Callahan authoring the majority opinion, ruled that obliging such warnings contravenes the constitutional speech rights of the herbicide producers.
The decision culminated from a six-year legal battle led by the National Association of Wheat Growers. The association’s president, Brent Cheyne, hailed the court’s injunction, emphasising their reliance on scientific evidence that does not substantiate the state’s labelling requirements.
The challenge garnered support from a consortium of agricultural industry stakeholders, including the Agricultural Retailers Association and the National Corn Growers Association.
These groups have consistently contested California’s Proposition 65 warning for glyphosate, contending that it would have erroneously signalled a health hazard to consumers, a claim not supported by a consensus in the scientific community.
