Standing by the side of Highway 63 with the Missouri state Capitol on the horizon, there鈥檚 a billboard that says, "Stand Up for Glyphosate."
Glyphosate is the key ingredient of Roundup, the flagship herbicide of Monsanto. Monsanto was based in St. Louis until it was purchased by German company Bayer in 2016. Monsanto and Bayer have been subject to tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging they didn鈥檛 warn customers that exposure to Roundup could cause cancer.
There鈥檚 no scientific consensus that Roundup is a carcinogen, but judgments and settlements have cost Bayer billions. Most recently, a Missouri appeals court against the company.
Rep. Dane Diehl, R-Butler, this year and supported by Bayer would have insulated Bayer and other chemical companies from those lawsuits. The bill would have prevented companies from being sued over the contents of pesticide labels if those labels have been approved by the EPA.
Since the EPA has not concluded that Roundup can cause cancer, litigants would no longer be able to claim in court that they weren鈥檛 properly warned about cancer risks.
鈥淵ou know, when the amount of litigation out there starts almost hampering or changing a business model, you have to look from a business standpoint at what has to change,鈥� Diehl said during floor debate on the legislation. This was Diehl鈥檚 second year sponsoring the bill.
Sen. Justin Brown, R-Rolla, introduced identical legislation in the Senate. The bill passed committee but made it no further. Both Brown and Diehl declined to be interviewed for this story.
Brenda Peculis, a retired University of Missouri professor of biochemistry, is opposed to the legislation.
Peculis said that since more independent studies have been done in the decades since Roundup received its initial EPA approval, the company should be required to attach more warnings. As a volunteer for the City of Columbia, she uses glyphosate to manage invasive plants.
鈥淓very bottle I get says, 鈥楥aution, contains glyphosate.鈥� The city will do this for me. Why will the company not do it for my neighbor, who goes to the hardware store to buy it?鈥� Peculis said.
The EPA is in the process of updating its glyphosate registration to incorporate more recent research.
鈥淓PA is currently updating its evaluation of the carcinogenic potential of glyphosate to better explain its findings and include the current relevant scientific information,鈥� an EPA spokesperson said in a statement. 鈥淓PA鈥檚 underlying scientific findings regarding glyphosate, including its finding that glyphosate is not likely to be carcinogenic to humans, remain the same.鈥�
Glyphosate in farming
Glyphosate is important to what鈥檚 called no-till farming, in which weeds are controlled with methods like herbicides rather than through tillage. No-till farming is popular because it preserves soil and prevents erosion.
At a press conference after the session ended, Gov. Mike Kehoe said it was important to make sure glyphosate remains available as a tool for farmers.
鈥淚 was disappointed that bill didn鈥檛 get passed,鈥� Kehoe said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very important to many of our ag producers across the state, as well as the actual manufacturers that make those products.鈥�
Many supporters of the legislation, including Kehoe, say the lawsuits against Bayer are driven by lawyers seeking lucrative settlements.
Proponents worry that if Bayer continues losing money to lawsuits, it may deem Roundup too much of a financial liability and remove it from the market.
鈥淚f for some reason that particular product is not produced anymore in the United States, farmers are still going to need that type of product, that type of weed control,鈥� Kehoe said. 鈥�(Glyphosate) will be produced somewhere, and if it is, it won鈥檛 be produced in this country, and farmers will not have the same protections or liability recourse.鈥�
Jess Christiansen, Bayer鈥檚 head of crop science communication, says the bill wouldn鈥檛 represent blanket immunity for the company. Bayer could still be sued over charges like negligence, just not over failure to warn.
鈥淥f course people should have their day in court,鈥� Christiansen said. 鈥淭his language is really specific to the labeling requirements that we as companies are held to by the EPA.鈥�
Lobbying efforts
Rep. Adrian Plank, D-Columbia, opposed the bill, calling it 鈥減urchased policy.鈥� Plank鈥檚 opposition is partly rooted in the fact that a friend and constituent died of lymphoma that he believed was caused by Roundup.
鈥淗e kept the jug that he thought gave him that cancer,鈥� Plank said. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 make it to his third bone marrow transplant and died.鈥�
Plank said Bayer鈥檚 push to block lawsuits is driven by greed.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an investment for them to buy politicians and policy, because it鈥檒l save them money in the long run,鈥� said Plank. 鈥淭hey lost the last four lawsuits to the tune of $11 billion and was able to pay it.鈥�
The billboard on Highway 63 is just one element of supporting the bill and parallel legislation in other states. The billboard is paid for by Modern Ag Alliance, a coalition of agricultural industry organizations founded by Bayer.
Modern Ag Alliance members include the Missouri Corn Growers Association and the Missouri Soybean Association. Diehl is a board member of the Missouri Soybean Association.
The bill dies
The bill passed the House by a vote of 85-72, just three votes over the threshold for passage. House Republicans were split on the bill, with 24 voting against.
But that momentum was halted in the Senate when to the districts of some of the most conservative Republican senators, urging them to support the bill. The nine senators targeted held a press conference saying they wouldn鈥檛 be pressured into supporting the legislation.
One of them, Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, said granting legal immunity to any corporation violates Missourians鈥� Seventh Amendment rights.
鈥淚 think as long as it鈥檚 going to provide some form of immunity or some form of legal protection for makers of products in the state of Missouri that could possibly injure our constituents it鈥檚 not going to be something we鈥檙e going to support,鈥� Schroer said.
The Republican opposition in the Senate meant the bill never saw a vote and died with the end of the legislative session.
What comes next
The billboard next to Highway 63 has a link to a website where, through a form letter, visitors from any state can contact legislators to urge them to protect glyphosate manufacturers. In addition to advocating for state-level bills, Bayer has lobbied for similar protections on the federal level.
Similar legislation backed by Bayer passed in and earlier this year.
鈥淭hose two have been signed into effect, and so that鈥檚 a big success story for the dialogue, and for the movement of really making sure we keep access to well-tested, safe and efficacious and affordable products for farmers to use,鈥� Christiansen said.
Plank said he has no doubt the bill will come up again next year.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure of it. You've got to remember that the bill sponsor is on the board of Missouri Soy, and that鈥檚 what they want,鈥� Plank said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to pander to the people who give them a bunch of money, and that鈥檚 Monsanto-Bayer.鈥�
Christiansen said Bayer is keeping its options open regarding what legislation it will endorse in Missouri in the 2026 session.
The River City Journalism Fund supports 漏 2024 外网天堂's Statehouse internship. Evy Lewis is the 2025 reporting intern. See for more information about the fund, which seeks to advance journalism in St. Louis.
