National Black Farmers Association sues Monsanto

The National Black Farmers Association filed suit yesterday against Monsanto and its German parent company, Bayer, in an attempt to block sales of the weedkiller Roundup.

The lawsuit alleges Monsanto has purchased smaller companies to weed out the competition, forcing black farmers across the country to use Roundup instead of other products. Bayer in June approved a $10 billion settlement to resolve tens of thousands of claims that Roundup causes cancer, but it would not agree to stop selling the product.

“Competition and choice are alive and well in agriculture and benefit farmers equally,” Bayer officials said in a statement.

Chris Schnieders, one of the attorneys who filed suit on behalf of the association, said "the cycle can only be broken by removing the product from the market."

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.