RELEASE: Supreme Court Ruling Helps Preserve Farmers’ Access to Glyphosate

Washington, DC, June 25, 2026 — Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Monsanto in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, holding that federal pesticide law preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims that would require a cancer warning on Roundup labels beyond what the Environmental Protection Agency has required.

The 7–2 decision overturned a Missouri jury award for John Durnell, who alleged that long-term exposure to Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that Monsanto failed to warn users of the risk. The ruling is expected to affect thousands of similar lawsuits against Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, and protect the future availability of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and many other herbicides used widely in U.S. agriculture.

The ruling is good news for farmers and the environment because it reduces the risk that glyphosate will be litigated off the market despite EPA’s science-based labeling determinations.

“Today’s ruling helps preserve access to one of the most important and low-risk weed-control tools available to American farmers,” said Dan Blaustein-Rejto, Director of Food and Agriculture at the Breakthrough Institute. “Had the Court ruled the other way, glyphosate could have become far less available, with litigation and a patchwork of state-level requirements making the product untenable to sell. That would have pushed farmers toward more expensive, more toxic, and more environmentally damaging alternatives.”

Glyphosate remains central to weed control in corn, soybeans, cotton, and other major crops. It is effective, affordable, and less toxic than many of the herbicides farmers would likely use in its place. It has made no-till farming more practical, reducing soil erosion, nutrient runoff, fuel use, dust pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

“Driving glyphosate off the market would not make agriculture safer or more sustainable,” Blaustein-Rejto said. “It would make weed control harder, more expensive, and often more harmful. Instead, we need rigorous federal risk assessment, better pesticide application practices, and continued innovation to make weed management even lower impact.”

Media Contact:

Dan Blaustein-Rejto
Director of Food and Agriculture
daniel@thebreakthrough.org