New York, NY – Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF-Manhattan) today announced that she will be introducing legislation to implement an immediate ban on the use of glyphosate on state owned, operated and leased properties and to prohibit New York State from purchasing new glyphosate-containing products. 

“Tens of thousands of people blame glyphosate exposure for causing their non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and Bayer has paid billions of dollars to settle litigation related to glyphosate’s known cancer risk. When the company that owns glyphosate recognizes that the risk associated with the product far outweighs its utility, it’s a no-brainer that New Yorkers must step up to protect its municipal workforce, the public, the environment as well as its bottom line by implementing a complete statewide ban on the use and purchase of glyphosate,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal.

In 2020, Rosenthal passed legislation which goes into effect at the end of this year that placed significant limits on the use of glyphosate on state owned, operated and leased properties. The bill as originally written would have banned the use of glyphosate in state parks, playgrounds and beaches, but the State forced a handful of exceptions that allow the continued use of glyphosate in limited areas.

“For a long time, advocates and I have argued that the dangers associated with glyphosate use, both to human health and the environment, were just too great to justify its use. A statewide ban has always been the goal, and now that glyphosate will no longer be used in residential products, there is little justification to continue to allow its use by the municipal workforce on state lands, whatever its purported benefits,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal. “Safer and cost-effective alternatives to glyphosate exist, and nothing short of an immediate and complete ban on glyphosate in all settings will go far enough.”

Last week Bayer A.G., the German chemical company that bought Monsanto Companies, producer of Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, in 2018, announced that it would remove and replace the herbicide glyphosate from all residential lawn and garden products sold in the United States by 2023. The move was part of a five-point plan developed by the company to mitigate the glyphosate “litigation risk.” Bayer has already settled 125,000 lawsuits related to glyphosate for more than $11 billion, and has set aside an additional $4.5 billion for future claims. 

Bayer acquired Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, in 2018 for $63 billion. In addition to the company, Bayer also acquired Monsanto’s legal liability.