Supreme Court

Does Roundup Cause Cancer? Monsanto's Supreme Court Case Could Have Big Impacts on the Food Industry.

The Court’s glyphosate case could reshape legal liability—and undermine evidence-based regulation.

Reem Ibrahim | 4.28.2026 2:40 PM

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On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Monsanto Company v. Durnell, a case that will determine the balance of power between states and the federal government over cancer warnings on pesticide labels.

In 2019, the defendant, John Durnell, filed a lawsuit against Monsanto Co., arguing that he had developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma due to exposure to glyphosate, an active ingredient in the company's weed killer Roundup. In 2023, a jury sided with Durnell, awarding him $1.25 million after it found Monsanto liable for failing to warn of the alleged cancer risk from glyphosate, even though the Environmental Protection Agency (and several other studies) have not found a link between glyphosate and higher cancer rates.

Monsanto appealed the decision, arguing that since the EPA has not found a cancer link with the pesticide, it cannot legally add warning labels to the product under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). As a result, the company argues, Durnell's lawsuit and the thousands like it in state courts should not be allowed to move forward.

Some Justices seemed skeptical of this argument, reports The New York Times. Chief Justice John Roberts appeared leery that,........

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