{"id":15467,"date":"2020-04-28T21:06:49","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T19:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/navdanyainternational.org\/?p=15467"},"modified":"2020-04-30T21:13:13","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T19:13:13","slug":"bayer-shareholder-meeting-draws-protests-pleas-from-cancer-patients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navdanyainternational.org\/fr\/bayer-shareholder-meeting-draws-protests-pleas-from-cancer-patients\/","title":{"rendered":"Bayer shareholder meeting draws protests, pleas from cancer patients"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carey Gillam, USRTK, 28 April 2020 | Source<\/a><\/p>\n

The Bayer AG annual shareholders\u2019 meeting got underway Tuesday in Germany, drawing the attention of not only investors and analysts but also activists, lawyers and cancer patients who want to see Bayer make amends for alleged misdeeds by Monsanto, which Bayer bought two years ago.<\/p>\n

The meeting was to be an in-person event in Bonn, Germany but due to fears about large gatherings that could spread the Covid-19 virus, Bayer instead is hosting a video webcast\u00a0 <\/a>of the meeting.<\/p>\n

On Monday the company announced a \u201cgood start to 2020,\u201d<\/a> reporting higher sales and profits through all divisions driven in part by strong demand within its Consumer Health division related to the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The shareholders\u2019 meeting comes as Bayer is facing legal claims in the United States brought by roughly 52,500 plaintiffs alleging that exposure to Monsanto\u2019s glyphosate-based herbicides such as Roundup caused them or their loved ones to develop non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). They allege Monsanto was aware of the risks and should have warned consumers but instead sought to manipulate the scientific record and regulators.<\/p>\n

Three trials have been held to date and Bayer lost all three as juries awarded more than $2 billion to four plaintiffs, though trial judges later reduced the awards. The trial losses angered investors and pushed share prices to the lowest levels in roughly seven years, \u00a0erasing more than 40 percent<\/a> of Bayer\u2019s market value at one point. Some investors called for Bayer CEO Werner Baumann to be ousted for championing the Monsanto acquisition, which closed in June of 2018 just as the first trial was getting underway.<\/p>\n

Bayer and plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys have been engaged in settlement talks for the last year and appeared close to a deal that would resolve a majority of the claims before the onset of Covid-19.<\/p>\n

Virus-related government closures, including of U.S. courthouses, have eliminated the possibility of additional trials in the near future, and Bayer has seized on its fresh leverage to walk back some of its negotiated settlements<\/a>, according to sources close to the talks.<\/p>\n

Bayer said Monday it will \u201ccontinue to consider a solution only if it is financially reasonable and puts in place a mechanism to resolve potential future claims efficiently. Against the background of a looming recession and looking at, in part, considerable liquidity challenges, this applies now more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the lack of an in-person meeting, several individuals and organizations are hoping to make their criticisms of the company known. One group representing beekeepers<\/a> said it was running online ads redirecting people searching for Bayer AGM on Google to an online stream featuring beekeepers talking about the impacts of Bayer\u2019s pesticides on bees.<\/p>\n

Several people involved in the Roundup litigation also spoke out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time for the Bayer board of directors to step up and do what is right,\u201d said Thomas Bolger, a 68-year-old man from Texas who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013 after using Roundup since 1982. Bolger recorded a video <\/a>message<\/a> to Bayer, detailing his ordeal with cancer.<\/strong><\/p>\n