The U.S. Supreme Court sided with pesticide manufacturers in a June 25th decision that will make it much harder for people harmed by pesticides to hold chemical companies accountable. In Monsanto v. Durnell, the Court ruled that people generally cannot sue pesticide manufacturers under state law for failing to include warnings about health risks on the label if the Environmental Protection Agency has already approved the pesticide label.
The chemical at the center of the case is glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. Glyphosate is the most used herbicide in the world, and the second most used pesticide in Vermont after Atrazine. In 2024, over 55,000 pounds were applied in Vermont, with roughly 45,000 pounds targeting livestock pastures and fields growing commodity crops such as corn, soybeans, small grains, and grasses. Because glyphosate is used mainly on farms, rural communities are disproportionately exposed to the chemical.
Those applying glyphosate, such as farmers, gardeners, and landscapers, have the highest rates of exposure. Low levels of glyphosate can also be ingested by eating contaminated crops or drinking contaminated water. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen.” Many studies have linked glyphosate exposure with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other health concerns, including hormone disruption and neurological disease.
Monsanto, acquired by German chemical company Bayer in 2018, has faced thousands of lawsuits, alleging that exposure to Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicides cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma. John Durnell brought one such claim in a Missouri State Court in 2019. Durnell was exposed to glyphosate through decades of residential Roundup application and later developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He argued that years of using Roundup caused his cancer, and that Monsanto failed to warn consumers about the risks despite evidence suggesting a link between glyphosate and cancer. The Missouri jury ruled in his favor, awarding him $1.25 million. Monsanto appealed this decision, with the Supreme Court eventually agreeing to hear the case on January 16, 2026.
Ultimately, the Supreme Court sided with Monsanto, holding that state law cannot require additional warnings after EPA has approved a label outlining procedural and safety instructions for registered pesticides.
However, while this was a terrible decision for people who have been harmed by pesticides, it is important to note that it does not prohibit states from regulating pesticides altogether. For example, the VPIRG-backed law passed earlier this year that will eliminate the use of toxic paraquat in Vermont remains in effect. The same is true of Vermont’s 2024 law phasing out the use of bee-killing neonicotinoids.
But the Court’s decision will cause widespread harm. Failure-to-warn lawsuits are the most successful type of Roundup lawsuits, helping to uncover internal company documents, forcing companies to defend their safety claims in court, and helping families seek compensation when they believe they’ve been harmed.
This kind of litigation has successfully pressured companies to improve their labels when federal label regulations failed to keep up with scientific evidence of health risks. Without the option of failure-to-warn lawsuits, the public is left to rely on the industry-friendly EPA to decide when warning labels need to change.
The Trump administration was squarely in Monsanto’s corner on this issue. The administration filed a brief supporting the pesticide manufacturer before the Supreme Court. President Trump also issued an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to boost the production of glyphosate and reduced funding for EPA research programs responsible for evaluating public and environmental health risks.
This decision makes it harder for families to protect themselves from dangerous chemicals, sacrificing health and safety to pad the profits of corporate interests. That’s why it’s so important that states like Vermont continue to find ways to protect public health and stand up to polluters.