The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could determine whether thousands of Americans who developed cancer after using Roundup weedkiller can continue to sue its manufacturer, Bayer.
At the centre of the case is John Durnell, a Missouri resident who spent years spraying Roundup while maintaining his property. He later developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that attacks the immune system.
In 2023, a jury awarded Durnell $1.25 million, finding that Bayer failed to provide adequate warnings about potential cancer risks linked to glyphosate.
(Source: Reuters)
Now Bayer wants the Supreme Court to shut the door on similar lawsuits nationwide.
While this legal battle is unfolding in the U.S., Roundup remains widely available in Australia, where the same chemical is still sold for home, farm, and council use.
A ruling is expected this year.
The People Behind the Lawsuits
Durnell is far from alone.
Across the U.S., tens of thousands of people say long-term exposure to Roundup through gardening, landscaping, farming, and council work led to serious illness. Many used the product for years without ever being warned about potential health risks.
The most common diagnosis tied to these cases is non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system. Symptoms can include swollen lymph nodes, chronic fatigue, night sweats, and weakened immunity.
Some of the most well-known cases include Dewayne Johnson, a California school groundskeeper who developed terminal cancer after heavy exposure, and Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a farming couple who were both diagnosed with the same disease.
(Source: Washington Post)
In multiple courtrooms, juries concluded that Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, failed to properly warn users about potential cancer risks.
Why Glyphosate Is So Controversial
Glyphosate has been sprayed on everything from crops to council footpaths since the 1970s.
In 2015, the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency classified it as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” That single phrase helped ignite a legal firestorm.
(Source: WHO)
Plaintiffs allege that long-term exposure increased their cancer risk, that internal documents downplayed safety concerns, and that marketing focused on reassurance rather than caution.
Bayer continues to maintain that glyphosate is safe when used as directed.
What Roundup Does to Soil
Here’s the part most people never think about.
Glyphosate doesn’t just kill weeds. It alters the soil itself.
Healthy soil is alive with microbes, fungi, and complex nutrient systems. Glyphosate disrupts that ecosystem, weakening beneficial bacteria and fungal networks that help plants absorb nutrients.
Over time, this can lead to poorer soil structure, reduced biodiversity, and crops that rely more heavily on chemical inputs just to survive.
(Source: Frontiers in Environmental Science)
It’s less “weed control” and more “ecological reset button.”
What It Does to Waterways
Once sprayed, glyphosate doesn’t stay put.
Rain washes it into stormwater systems, creeks, rivers, wetlands, and eventually coastal ecosystems. In aquatic environments, it can harm plant life, disrupt fish development, and interfere with amphibian growth cycles.
(Source: US Geological Survey)
Urban spraying is especially problematic, because runoff often flows straight into waterways without filtration.
The result is chemical exposure far beyond the garden fence.
What It Does to Humans
The real concern isn’t a single spray.
It’s chronic exposure over years.
Research and legal claims point to potential links with immune disruption, endocrine interference, gut microbiome changes, and increased cancer risk. Occupational exposure for landscapers, farmers, and groundskeepers appears especially concerning.
The scale of litigation, the WHO classification, and the billions already paid in settlements all suggest this isn’t a fringe issue.
What Bayer Is Asking the Court to Do
Bayer’s argument is technical but powerful.
The company claims that because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hasn’t required a cancer warning label, individuals shouldn’t be allowed to sue under state laws for failure to warn.
If the Supreme Court agrees, it could wipe out large numbers of current lawsuits and prevent future claims altogether.
(Source: SCOTUSblog)
This case won’t decide whether glyphosate causes cancer.
It will decide whether people can seek legal accountability when regulators haven’t required warnings.
What About Australia
Despite mounting global concern and a tidal wave of U.S. lawsuits, glyphosate remains fully approved in Australia by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority.
Roundup is still sold in major hardware chains and agricultural suppliers with no cancer warning labels, no public health alerts, and no meaningful restrictions. Australian regulators continue to rely on existing safety assessments while other countries move toward tighter controls or outright bans.
In short:
The lawsuits are in the headlines.
The risks are widely debated.
And the product is still sitting on Australian shelves.
The Bigger Picture
Roundup’s continued use isn’t about safety.
It’s about cost, convenience, and institutional momentum.
The environmental impacts extend beyond human health to soil degradation, waterway pollution, and biodiversity loss. Once you zoom out, glyphosate becomes less of a gardening product and more of a system-wide chemical dependency.
Safer Alternatives
For home gardens, weeds can be managed with manual removal, mulching, boiling water, or vinegar-based solutions.
At an agricultural scale, alternatives focus on reducing chemical dependence, not eliminating weed control entirely. These include mechanical cultivation, crop rotation, cover cropping, targeted spraying, and regenerative farming practices that strengthen soil health and suppress weeds naturally over time.
The goal isn’t weed-free perfection.
It’s fewer chemicals, healthier soil, and less environmental fallout.
The weeds still die.
The ecosystem doesn’t.
What Happens Next
The Supreme Court will hear arguments later this year and a final decision is expected at after those arguments.
The outcome could influence product labelling, chemical regulation, corporate accountability, and public health policy worldwide.
We’ll be watching.
Related Reads
New U.S. Food Pyramid
mRNA Livestock Vaccine Australia
Moderna RNA Sprays On Food
Gym Membership Cancellation Law Australia
Wegovy Tablet Australian
