Will your lawmaker protect ChemChina over Iowa Farmers? |
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 There’s a proposal in the state legislature (HSB 646) that would let ChemChina, Monsanto, and other foreign and out-of-state pesticide companies avoid accountability when their chemicals lead to deadly cancer and Parkinson’s for Iowa farmers.
Farmers all across the county have experienced deadly cancer and Parkinson’s from long-term and large scale exposure to pesticides. Dangers that these chemical companies allegedly knew about and concealed, and too often have mislead the federal EPA into approving. Paraquat is a pesticide made by ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. It’s banned in China in part because it causes Parkinson’s, but they export it to the U.S., killing our farmers.
Farmers have been suing these billion-dollar foreign and out-of-state corporations and winning, and now lobbyists for these chemical companies are trying to pass a bill that prevents any future court case. Monsanto profits from failing to warn our farmers that Roundup can cause cancer, and this bill will prevent them from paying for the harm they cause. The Chinese government profits from failing to warn our farmers that their product will cause Parkinson’s disease, and this bill will directly protect China from paying for the harm they cause.
We should be protecting our farmers, not billion-dollar foreign corporations like ChemChina. |
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The only avenue farmers have to hold these billion-dollar pesticide companies accountable is through "failure to warn" lawsuits. House Study Bill 646 completely eliminates these lawsuits. The bill states that these corporations shall have no duty to warn Americans of the health risks of their products, beyond the EPA warning label. But here is the problem, these warning labels make ZERO mention of Parkinson's disease or cancer.
 This is reminiscent of DDT from the 1950s and 60s. This product was banned in 1972, but is causing higher rates of cancer four generations later. All the while, corporations manufacturing this product contended that DDT was safe.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research lays out in their report that ChemChina's pesticide has been linked to a 100-500% increased risk of Parkinson’s. It also exposes that ChemChina has known about negative health outcomes from its product since 1964, and known about it's link to Parkinson's since 1985, but set out to “secretly influence scientific research regarding links between its top-selling weedkiller and Parkinson’s." Thousands of Americans with Parkinson's caused by exposure to paraquat are involved litigation with ChemChina, with trials set to begin this year. Farmers with large scale exposure to Roundup have already won multiple lawsuits against Monsanto, where a jury and judge heard evidence from both sides and agreed that Monsanto's product did in fact cause their cancer.
Rather than do the right thing, and adequately warn users of these pesticides that large scale exposure will lead to dramatically increased risk of Parkinson's and cancer, they want to pass House Study Bill 646 and close the courthouse doors for Iowa farmers.
Tell the Agriculture Committee NO.
Accountable Iowa |
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