Among other things, the settlement requires Bayer and Monsanto to immediately remove or discontinue any advertising that portrays Roundup consumer products containing glyphosate as safe, non-toxic or risk-free to pollinators and other wildlife, prosecutors said Thursday. In addition, the distributors and retailers of these Roundup weed killers should be instructed to stop distributing marketing materials that allegedly contain these misrepresentations.
“Pesticides can seriously damage the health of our environment and pose a deadly threat to wildlife, including pollinators and other species important to agriculture,” said Attorney General Letitia James. “It is important that pesticide companies – even the most powerful ones – honestly educate consumers about the dangers of their products so that they can be used responsibly.”
In 2020, James launched an investigation to determine whether Monsanto and its current owner Bayer again falsely advertised their Roundup products, violating Monsanto’s 1996 settlement with prosecutors. The investigation found, prosecutors said, that a number of claims made in the advertisements, including promises that Roundup products “won’t harm anything except weeds” and “pose no threat to wildlife health,” were under-substantiated.
Bayer shares gained 0.23 percent to EUR 51.94 in after-hours trading on Tradegate.
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