Monsanto scientists questioned about push to persuade agencies Roundup is safe

SAN FRANCISCO -- Plaintiff's attorneys pressed Monsanto Co. scientists Tuesday on their efforts to steer the scientific community to support its conclusion that glyphosate-based herbicides are not carcinogenic.

Monsanto's lead medical sciences and outreach officer, Daniel Goldstein, and product safety toxicologist Donna Farmer were forced to respond to allegations that they did not comply with regulatory reporting requirements in addition to selectively funding, conducting and publishing studies that agreed with their conclusions.

"The number one goal is to defend and maintain the global Roundup business," Farmer wrote in an email to Monsanto's head of European regulatory affairs.

Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson alleges product liability and negligence, among other claims, and seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages. Johnson v. Monsanto et. al., CGC-16-550128 (S.F. Super. Ct., filed Jan. 28, 2016).

Plaintiff's attorney Brent Wisner of Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman PC told the jury his client is seeking $2.25 million in compensatory damages. He did not mention other damages Tuesday.

In video depositions played for the jury, plaintiff attorneys questioned Goldstein on the company's alleged noncompliance with the Environmental Protection Agency's reporting requirements, which mandate companies notify the agency of products with "substantial risk of adverse effects."

In a heated back-and-forth, Goldstein was asked about an email he wrote to his supervisor about a former Monsanto employee who wrote to the company about his suspicion that working with glyphosate-based herbicides as a part of his job caused his non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Goldstein said he did not respond to the former employee or report it to the EPA.

"It was a question," he said. "I did not have a specific registered product to link it to. It did not meet reporting requirements."

Goldstein said he had no recollection of similar inquiries when asked whether Monsanto reported other complaints the company received.

Johnson, the plaintiff, wrote to Monsanto about his rashes and his suspicion they were related to his exposure to glyphosate-based herbicides. Company officials did not respond to him, Johnson testified Monday.

Goldstein denied any evidence of possible glyphosate carcinogenicity when questioned by Monsanto's attorneys and explained that the studies finding an association are unreplicable, putting the findings into question.

"Interpreting the whole body of evidence, I don't think there is an association between glyphosate and cancer," he said, adding the EPA and other international agencies agree with him.

In a 2009 email, Farmer wrote: "I cannot say that Roundup does not cause cancer," according to the videotaped deposition. "We have not done carcinogenicity studies."

"I didn't put in the qualifiers I normally do," she said when asked to elaborate on what she meant. "We do have data to say that Roundup doesn't cause cancer."

Plaintiff's attorneys asked Farmer of Monsanto's campaign to discredit the International Agency for Research on Cancer's determination that glyphosate-based herbicides are associated with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Emails between Farmer and Monsanto executive William Heydens revealed the company recruited outside scientists to co-author reports defending its herbicides. Heydens proposed the company could keep "the cost down by us doing the writing and they would just edit and sign their names so to speak."

"That was a miscommunication," Farmer said.

Farmer's deposition ended with company attorneys asking her of the agencies that support Monsanto's conclusion, which include the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs and European Food Safety Administration.

"If glyphosate really is a carcinogen, you would expect it to create tumors every time ... consistency is very important," she said.