In response to the recent classification of the ingredients in the Monsanto Company’s product, Roundup, as “probably carcinogenic to humans”, John Harrington, CEO of Harrington Investments, Inc., a Napa-based socially responsible investment advisory firm, introduced a shareholder resolution. This resolution proposes that Monsanto provide a report on how the company will mitigate the inevitable risks of the extremely negative effects on human and environmental health from the main ingredient, glyphosate, in its most popular product.
“Given that about half of Monsanto’s revenue comes from Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides, the labeling of the company’s core product as ‘probably carcinogenic’ is not a healthy boost for the company’s prospects,” proclaimed Harrington. The disclosure of the dangers of Roundup’s glyphosate herbicide, coupled with an increasing number of independent studies associating glyphosate with cancer, birth defects, kidney disease, and hormone disruption, “would seem to raise material financial risks to the corporation,” Harrington cautioned.