The herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's weed-killer called Round Up, is going on the state of California's list of potentially cancerous chemicals, the list is required by state law under proposition 65. Officials from the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment announced on Monday the glyphosate listing will become effective on July 7, 2017.
It is uncertain the warning label will ultimately get on Round Up, Monsanto vows to fight the warning label and filed an appeal after losing in court to block the labeling, arguing Round Up does not cause cancer. The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer ruled Round Up is "probably carcinogenic" in 2015. Monsanto has faced increasing litigation since then.
State health regulators must also decide if there's a high enough amount of the chemical in the weed-killer to pose a risk to human health. State officials are currently reviewing more than 1,300 public comments on the listing.
Roundup was introduced by Monsanto in 1974 as a weed-killer and it became the best selling herbicide. Farmers in California use it on 250 types of crops and it is sold in more than 160 countries.
California is the first state in the nation to label Round Up as a carcinogen.