Scott Burnett Smith Quoted in Law.com on Possible Removal of Glyphosate from the Market

Bradley attorney Scott Burnett Smith was quoted in Law.com on the negative impacts the removal of glyphosate could have on America’s agricultural industry. 

Farmers growing corn, soybeans, blueberries and cherries were among the 18 groups that filed amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court supporting Monsanto’s petition to review the pesticide Roundup.

The amicus groups, most of which filed their briefs on Friday, are double the number that supported Monsanto in its prior Roundup petition that the Supreme Court denied in 2022. Many are the same legal and business organizations, such as the Washington Legal Foundation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, but more than a dozen groups representing America’s agricultural community raised concerns that Monsanto could remove glyphosate, Roundup’s key ingredient, should the Supreme Court not rule in its favor.

“To remove glyphosate from the market would pose an immediate, devastating risk to America’s food supply,” wrote Smith. He represents the American Farm Bureau Federation, the American Soybean Association, the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, the Cherry Marketing Institute, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, the International Fresh Produce Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Cotton Council of America, the National Sorghum Producers, the North American Blueberry Council and Western Growers.

“If farmers cannot use glyphosate, food yields in the next growing season will drop precipitously,” he wrote. “The question presented is critically important for the American agricultural industry.”

“All corners of America’s agricultural industry rely on, and benefit from, glyphosate,” Smith wrote. “Without access to glyphosate, crop losses will inevitably occur, leading to further supply chain disruptions, food shortages, and higher consumer prices.”

So far, the U.S. Justice Department under the Trump administration hasn’t weighed in. Both the Biden administration and the prior Trump administration filed opposing amicus briefs in prior Roundup appeals, including one before the Supreme Court.

The full article, “Devastating Risk to America’s Food Supply’ Agricultural Amici Fear Roundup’s Demise,” was published by Law.com on May 12, 2025.