Partnership Against Cancer

Growing up, I always wanted to be a farmer like my dad.  As it turns out, I may be lucky that didn't come to pass.  My dad died in November, 2000 at the age of 56.  The most difficult day of my life so far.  Leading up to his death, he suffered from non-Hodkin's Lymphoma, which eventually entering his spinal fluid.  He spent months in intensive care, suffering immensely from the effects of the cancer and its treatments.   

Recently, various studies have uncovered a strong link between a herbicide called Roundup, which my dad used on his farm, and non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Further, in March 2017, a judge in San Francisco unsealed documents that show Roundup's manufacturer, Monsanto Company, has known  for over 30 years that Roundup's ingredients were likely to cause cancer, specifically non-Hodkin's Lymphoma.  

As a result of this discovery, numerous farmers have filed legal claims against Monsanto.  I would like to join those lawsuits as personal representative of my dad's estate, to help my mom, and to hold Monsanto accountable.  To do so, however, I need funds to pay for legal help.  And I need them soon, so I can pay a lawyer to file a case and avoid the statute of limitations, which for my dad's case may have begun to run when Monsanto's fraudulent concealment became public earlier this year. 

Monsanto is a $50 billion global conglomerate.  Its flagship product, Roundup, is the most used herbicide in the world, with more than 9.4 million tons sprayed on crops since it was first registered for use in 1974.  To further boost sales of Roundup, Monsanto has genetically engineered crops to resist it, so the herbicide can be sprayed indiscriminately as a week killer without killing the desired crop.  This, along with its use as a desiccant, has caused glyphosate to enter our food systems, presenting now known (and yet unknown) hazards to us all. 

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has found residues of glyphosate (Roundup's active ingredient) in 29.7 per cent of all food samples, with 1.3 per cent containing residue levels above Canada's maximum residue limits. For the grain products tested, 3.9 per cent had residue levels above maximum residue limits.   You can read about this testing here:  
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/cfia-report-glyphosate-1.4070275 

If I receive pledges sufficient to launch this lawsuit and the lawsuit results in a recovery, I in turn pledge to donate twice the amount used to pay legal fees and other expenses related to the litigation to environmental groups and cancer foundations, up to the total net recoveries from Monsanto.  I'll also donate any funds remaining from the Funded Justice campaign to environmental groups, once all litigation is complete.  Finally, I'll regularly report on progress of the litigation and related lawsuits against Monsanto.  Whatever happens in the litigation, your help will bring more awareness to this continuing risk not only to farmers but also to all of us who depend on them. 

Thanks for reading. 

Funded Justice