Today, as chemical and pesticide giant Bayer pushes widely opposed legislation in Iowa and in multiple other states to shield pesticide corporations from health related lawsuits, the corporation reported a net income loss of €2.6 billion, or nearly $3 billion (based on a €1 to $1.08 exchange rate) in 2024. Bayer has spent over $11 billion to date settling more than 100,000 cancer lawsuits related to their Roundup product, whose active ingredient glyphosate is under investigation as a possible carcinogen.

Bayer’s state legislative efforts are facing widespread opposition. 150+ Iowans rallied at the State Capitol last month against the Cancer Gag Act, proposed in the Senate, while similar proposals in Wyoming and Mississippi have failed to pass out of committee, and bills in a further eight statehouses face an uphill battle.

In response, Food & Water Watch Iowa Organizer Jennifer Breon issued the following statement:

“Bayer profits are tanking — and they are taking it out on Iowa farmers. Opposition to Bayer’s cruel Cancer Gag Act is only growing. We know that Iowans’ lives are more important than Bayer’s profits. And we know that our communities will not be sacrificed to rising cancer rates, all to save face for a multinational corporation’s greedy shareholders. The Iowa legislature must reject Bayer’s cruel Cancer Gag Act.”