Glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide and the active ingredient in Monsanto's weedkiller Roundup, is the subject of fierce controversy across the globe and is classified by the World Health Organization as "probably" being carcinogenic.

After the second US cancer victim on Wednesday won a payout victory against Monsanto over the weedkiller, here is the state of play regarding lawsuits and restrictions on the use of glyphosate around the world:

- United States -

A California court earlier this month found that Roundup was a "substantial factor" in Edwin Hardeman, 70, getting non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after spraying the weedkiller on his garden for decades.

On Wednesday, the jury found Monsanto had been "negligent by not using reasonable care" to warn of the risks of its product, ordering it to pay Hardeman $75 million in punitive damages, $5.6 million in compensation and $200,000 for medical expenses.

It comes after a San Francisco court in August 2018 judged that glyphosate weedkillers Roundup and Ranger Pro contributed to a groundskeeper's non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The jurors found that Monsanto acted with "malice" and ordered the company to pay $289 million to Dewayne Johnson, who has two young sons and is in the end stages of his cancer, before the damages were reduced to $78.5 million.

German chemical giant Bayer, which has seen its stock shed almost 40 precent of its value since it acquired Monsanto for $63 billion in June 2018, has defended Roundup.

"Regulatory authorities around the world consider glyphosate-based herbicides as safe when used as directed," the group has said, highlighting "800 rigorous studies" of chemical's effects.

Bayer faces a total of 11,200 US cases over Roundup.

- Europe -

After two years of fierce debate, the European Union's member states decided, at the end of 2017, to renew the licence for glyphosate for another five years.

The EU's executive body, the European Commission, pointed to the approval of glyphosate by its two scientific agencies, the European Food Safety Authority and the European Chemicals Agency, which do not classify the substance as carcinogenic.

But the independence of EFSA was questioned after media reports suggested that pages of its report were copied and pasted from analyses in a Monsanto study.

The French government promised in May 2018 that glyphosate would be banned "for its main uses" by 2021, and "for all of its uses" within five years.

- Argentina -

In some areas of Argentina, which uses large quantities of glyphosate for its vast soybean crops, there are almost daily clashes between concerned residents and farmers for whom the product is indispensable.

Without nationwide legislation, the mayors of individual towns and cities have passed measures restricting use of the weedkiller. Farmers generally contest the measures, further raising tensions.

- Brazil -

In August 2018 a court suspended licences for products containing glyphosate, which is widely used in Latin America's agricultural powerhouse, but a higher court lifted the ban the following month.

- Colombia -

Colombia became the last country in the world to outlaw aerial spraying of glyphosate in 2015, but President Ivan Duque in March 2019 called for the ban to be modified in order tackle record cocaine crops.

- El Salvador -

In 2013 the Central American nation's parliament voted to ban 53 agrochemical products, including those containing glyphosate. However the ban was later lifted on 11 products -- including the weedkiller.

- Sri Lanka -

The Sri Lankan government banned glyphosate imports in October 2015 following a campaign over fears the chemical causes chronic kidney disease.

However after agricultural organisations pointed out there was no study linking the two, the import ban was lifted in July 2018, but its use was restricted to tea and rubber plantations.

Monsanto ordered to pay $80 mn in Roundup cancer trial
San Francisco (AFP) March 28, 2019 - Monsanto has been ordered to pay some $80 million to an American retiree who blames his cancer on the agribusiness giant's weedkiller Roundup, in a case that could influence the outcome of thousands more like it.

A San Francisco jury Wednesday found the firm, which is owned by Bayer, had been "negligent by not using reasonable care" to warn of the risks of its product, ordering it to pay Edwin Hardeman $75 million in punitive damages, a little over $5 million in compensation and $200,000 for medical expenses.

It was the second stinging legal verdict for Monsanto in recent months after it lost a case to a California school groundskeeper suffering from terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and was ordered to pay out tens of millions of dollars.

The jury also found that Roundup's design was defective and that the product lacked sufficient warnings of potential risk.

The same jury had previously found in an earlier part of the trial that a quarter century exposure to Roundup, whose principal ingredient is controversial chemical glyphosate, was a "substantial factor" in giving the 70-year-old Hardeman non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The decision also marks a major setback for Bayer, which purchased Monsanto in June 2018 for $63 billion.

- 'No impact on future cases' -

In Frankfurt Thursday, Bayer's share price fell 1.14 percent to 55.69 euros by 0830 GMT -- extending losses as Bayer has seen its market value shrink by 46 percent since it bought Monsanto.

The company, which is facing thousands more similar lawsuits in the United States, said it would appeal the verdict even though it sympathized with Hardeman's plight.

"We are disappointed with the jury's decision, but this verdict does not change the weight of over four decades of extensive science and the conclusions of regulators worldwide that support the safety of our glyphosate-based herbicides and that they are not carcinogenic," Bayer said in a statement.

"The verdict in this trial has no impact on future cases and trials, as each one has its own factual and legal circumstances."

Hardeman's attorneys, who cheered and hugged their client as the verdict was announced, described the decision by the six-member jury as historic and said it sends a clear message to Monsanto that it needs to change its business practices.

"It is clear from Monsanto's actions that it does not care whether Roundup causes cancer, focusing instead on manipulating public opinion and undermining anyone who raises genuine and legitimate concerns about Roundup," attorneys Aimee Wagstaff and Jennifer Moore said in a statement.

"It speaks volumes that not one Monsanto employee, past or present, came live to trial to defend Roundup's safety or Monsanto's actions."

- 'Back against the wall' -

The case is one of more than 11,200 similar cases in the US alone involving Roundup.

Last August, Monsanto lost a case to a California school groundskeeper suffering from terminal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, who had sued the company over the glyphosate weedkillers Roundup and Ranger Pro.

Monsanto was initially ordered to pay $289 million to Dewayne Johnson, before the damages were reduced to $78.5 million.

Bayer has also filed an appeal in that case.

Monsanto has consistently denied that the weedkiller causes cancer and challenged findings by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), which classified glyphosate as a "probable carcinogen" in 2015.

But other major agencies like the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) or the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have not followed suit.

Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, told AFP that Hardeman's case was "important as a bellwether, which means it helps predict how future cases will be decided."

Tobias said the verdict "bodes well" for plaintiffs in the thousands of other cases filed against Monsanto, and was "likely to encourage plaintiffs and their counsel to be more vigorous in pursuing their cases and will lead more potential plaintiffs to file suit."

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit organisation, cheered Wednesday's verdict.

"Clearly, the testimony that informed the jury's decision was Bayer-Monsanto hiding Roundup's carcinogenic properties, manipulating the science and cozying-up with EPA so it would not have to warn consumers of its dangerous product," said the group's president Ken Cook.

"This verdict puts Bayer's back firmly up against the wall as the cost of litigation mounts and its stock price gets pummeled once again," he added.

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