Bayer U.S. is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, a global drug and biotechnology conglomerate that raked in $53.3 billion in revenue during 2023. And yet, it needs the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature’s help.
You see, in 2018, Bayer bought Monsanto for $63 billion. It was a bad deal, because Bayer inherited legal liability for one of Monsanto’s signature products, namely the herbicide Roundup. Bayer has had to cover billions of dollars in awards to plaintiffs successfully claiming exposure to Roundup causes cancer.
Bayer argues that federal officials have ruled that glyphosate, the weed killer in Roundup, isn’t carcinogenic. But other research contradicts the government. A 2019 University of Washington analysis of people with high cumulative exposure to glyphosate found they faced a 41% higher risk of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system.
If you sell a chemical that makes people sick, there will be consequences.
That’s where the Iowa Legislature comes in. Republicans are pursuing legislation that would shield herbicide and pesticide companies from lawsuits stemming from health impacts of their products, so long as the products meet federal labeling requirements. Bayer basically handed lawmakers a bill to pass.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill this past week. Sen. Jeff Edler, R-State Center, argued the bill would “keep America and Iowa’s food supply abundant, safe and efficient.” Sounds like a corporate news release.
Pushing for liability protection is an awkward sales pitch for Roundup.
Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the country. We also have the fastest-growing rate of new cancers. So why the hell would we be giving liability protection to companies that may be selling products that cause cancer?
Clearly, the Republican Legislature is not on our side. We’ve seen it again and again. They care more about the powerful interests they serve more than the constituents they represent. They don’t even try to hide it anymore.
This is a Legislature that will give legal liability protection to farm chemical companies but refuses to stop carbon pipeline investors from taking private farmland through eminent domain. To be fair, the House has repeatedly tried to help landowners, but the Senate has refused to act.
When nursing homeowners say jump, lawmakers ask “How high?” And that’s no matter how many horrific stories of neglect, abuse and death make headlines. Lawmakers won’t even call a Government Oversight Committee to look into it.
Last year, Republicans pushed through a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases resulting in the loss of bodily functions, disfigurement, or death at $1 million for doctors and $2 million for hospitals. They followed that up with a $5 million cap on damages that can be paid by a trucking company in the event of an accident.
Lawmakers approved the caps to stop runaway juries from granting “nuclear” damages. Never mind that Iowa juries have rarely gone nuclear. But setting the cost of human life sure makes it easier to buy insurance.
Recently, lawmakers sent Reynolds a bill erasing a requirement that the state inspect hotels every other year. Apparently, the inspections weren’t happening, so let’s get rid of the requirement. God forbid the state provide adequate resources to follow the law.
Of course, the Iowa Hotel and Lodging Association backs the legislation. Instead of regular inspections, the state will respond to customer complaints. Maybe call 1-800-Bedbugs.
“Customer complaints are sufficient and more frequent,” said Sen. Carrie Koelker, R-Dyersville. “We have to have our hotels step up and take responsibility for their reputation, their bedbug problems, their own communities.”
Iowa has embraced self-policing, complaint-based regulation. It’s done wonders for water quality.
Recently, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources responded to 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer that spilled from NEW Cooperative into the East Nishnabotna River in southeast Iowa. A fisheries biologist found no living fish in a 50-mile stretch of the river after the spill.
This past week brought a report that gasoline spilled into the East Nishnabotna for an overfilled underground storage tank at a Casey’s in Atlantic.
And the East Nishnabotna spills came on the heels of a spill from Agri Star’s kosher processing plant in Postville that sent 250,000 gallons of untreated meat processing waste into the city’s sewage system and nearby Williams Creek.
So, all in all, a bang-up week for the environment. Maybe next week the Legislature will send the governor a bill barring local governments from regulating topsoil replacement or adopting stormwater runoff rules beyond minimum standards. It’s the least we can do for disadvantaged homebuilders.
But worst of all, Iowans continue to hand control of state government over to this crowd, which clearly cares about their votes, but their lives, not so much. Partisan loyalty is strong in this state, but how long can Iowa voters tolerate being represented by lawmakers who don’t represent their best interests? The common good has been replaced by the all too common grift.
They’re not looking out for you, folks, unless you write them a big, fat check. And no amount of red state culture war distractions can hide it.
We’re getting played, and it’s time to wake up.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
You see, in 2018, Bayer bought Monsanto for $63 billion. It was a bad deal, because Bayer inherited legal liability for one of Monsanto’s signature products, namely the herbicide Roundup. Bayer has had to cover billions of dollars in awards to plaintiffs successfully claiming exposure to Roundup causes cancer.
Bayer argues that federal officials have ruled that glyphosate, the weed killer in Roundup, isn’t carcinogenic. But other research contradicts the government. A 2019 University of Washington analysis of people with high cumulative exposure to glyphosate found they faced a 41% higher risk of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph system.
If you sell a chemical that makes people sick, there will be consequences.
That’s where the Iowa Legislature comes in. Republicans are pursuing legislation that would shield herbicide and pesticide companies from lawsuits stemming from health impacts of their products, so long as the products meet federal labeling requirements. Bayer basically handed lawmakers a bill to pass.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the bill this past week. Sen. Jeff Edler, R-State Center, argued the bill would “keep America and Iowa’s food supply abundant, safe and efficient.” Sounds like a corporate news release.
Pushing for liability protection is an awkward sales pitch for Roundup.
Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the country. We also have the fastest-growing rate of new cancers. So why the hell would we be giving liability protection to companies that may be selling products that cause cancer?
Clearly, the Republican Legislature is not on our side. We’ve seen it again and again. They care more about the powerful interests they serve more than the constituents they represent. They don’t even try to hide it anymore.
This is a Legislature that will give legal liability protection to farm chemical companies but refuses to stop carbon pipeline investors from taking private farmland through eminent domain. To be fair, the House has repeatedly tried to help landowners, but the Senate has refused to act.
When nursing homeowners say jump, lawmakers ask “How high?” And that’s no matter how many horrific stories of neglect, abuse and death make headlines. Lawmakers won’t even call a Government Oversight Committee to look into it.
Last year, Republicans pushed through a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases resulting in the loss of bodily functions, disfigurement, or death at $1 million for doctors and $2 million for hospitals. They followed that up with a $5 million cap on damages that can be paid by a trucking company in the event of an accident.
Lawmakers approved the caps to stop runaway juries from granting “nuclear” damages. Never mind that Iowa juries have rarely gone nuclear. But setting the cost of human life sure makes it easier to buy insurance.
Recently, lawmakers sent Reynolds a bill erasing a requirement that the state inspect hotels every other year. Apparently, the inspections weren’t happening, so let’s get rid of the requirement. God forbid the state provide adequate resources to follow the law.
Of course, the Iowa Hotel and Lodging Association backs the legislation. Instead of regular inspections, the state will respond to customer complaints. Maybe call 1-800-Bedbugs.
“Customer complaints are sufficient and more frequent,” said Sen. Carrie Koelker, R-Dyersville. “We have to have our hotels step up and take responsibility for their reputation, their bedbug problems, their own communities.”
Iowa has embraced self-policing, complaint-based regulation. It’s done wonders for water quality.
Recently, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources responded to 265,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen fertilizer that spilled from NEW Cooperative into the East Nishnabotna River in southeast Iowa. A fisheries biologist found no living fish in a 50-mile stretch of the river after the spill.
This past week brought a report that gasoline spilled into the East Nishnabotna for an overfilled underground storage tank at a Casey’s in Atlantic.
And the East Nishnabotna spills came on the heels of a spill from Agri Star’s kosher processing plant in Postville that sent 250,000 gallons of untreated meat processing waste into the city’s sewage system and nearby Williams Creek.
So, all in all, a bang-up week for the environment. Maybe next week the Legislature will send the governor a bill barring local governments from regulating topsoil replacement or adopting stormwater runoff rules beyond minimum standards. It’s the least we can do for disadvantaged homebuilders.
But worst of all, Iowans continue to hand control of state government over to this crowd, which clearly cares about their votes, but their lives, not so much. Partisan loyalty is strong in this state, but how long can Iowa voters tolerate being represented by lawmakers who don’t represent their best interests? The common good has been replaced by the all too common grift.
They’re not looking out for you, folks, unless you write them a big, fat check. And no amount of red state culture war distractions can hide it.
We’re getting played, and it’s time to wake up.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Iowa’s Republican Legislature is not on our side
Sipa USA/TNS To shape public perception about Roundup, Monsanto engaged in a coordinated push to fight against negative publicity. Above, …
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