From Earth We Are One, December 24, 2015

The court of appeals in Lyon, France, has discovered agribusiness giant Monsanto blameworthy of harming a man named Paul François. François is a rancher who asserted that he endured a huge number of ailments, including headaches, memory loss, neurological issues and stammering, after he inadvertently breathed in Monsanto’s herbicide, Lasso.

François utilized Lasso for more than 15 years, and in 2004 unintentionally breathed in the product. After the occurrence, the farmer started experiencing extreme headaches as well as moments of mental absence and failure to talk.

The chemical’s effects on François were severe to the point that he fainted, was hospitalized and fell into a state of unconsciousness. François was determined to have mono chlorobenzene poisoning, his doctor found that the chemical permanently damaged his brain. Monochlorobenzene makes up 50% of the herbicide Lasso.

It is worth noting that the herbicide was prohibited in France and the rest of the European Union in 2007, and at the time of the incident, it was already banned in Canada (since 1985), Great Britain and Belgium (since 1992).

During the court hearing, Monsanto’s attorneys repeatedly claimed that the herbicide Lasso was not dangerous. François claimed that the company was aware of the toxic nature of the herbicide but failed to adequately warn about the potential health risks.

The Appeals Court in Lyon upheld the original 2012 decision and ruled that the biotech giant, notorious for what some belief is a toxic combination of GMOs and Roundup herbicide, was “responsible” for the poisoning and must “fully compensate” François for damaging his health. Monsanto has stated that it will appeal the ruling at the French Supreme Court.

Monsanto attorney Jean-Daniel Bretzner, made a statement regarding François potential compensation, should the ruling be upheld by the highest court:

“We are speaking about modest sums of money or even nonexistent. He already received indemnities (by insurers) and there is a fundamental rule that says that one does not compensate twice for a loss, if any.”

Yet, regardless of the fine, François’ win against Monsanto would set an important precedent for others who suffer from ailments due to herbicide and pesticide exposure.

“It is a historic decision in so far as it is the first time that a (pesticide) maker is found guilty of such a poisoning.” – François Lafforgue, François’ lawyer

This case could be a significant game changer for Monsanto, who sells many potentially-dangerous chemical products, many of which are used on food crops. For example, another common ingredient in Monsanto’s products is alachlor, which “has the potential to cause damage to the liver, kidney, spleen, nasal mucosa and eye from long-term exposure,” as stated by the EPA. Monsanto is also well-known for its glyphosate products such as Roundup. Glyphosate has been identified by the World Health Organization as “probably carcinogenic to humans,” a claim that Monsanto is insisting is based on pseudo-science and should be withdrawn.

Below is a news summary of the case from France 24:

Source:

enlightened-consciousness.com