‘Far Inferior in Value’: Maker of Weed Slayer/Agro Gold WS Herbicide and Fertilizer Hit with False Advertising Class Action

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A proposed class action alleges Agro Research International’s Weed Slayer/Agro Gold WS herbicide and fertilizer products are “far inferior in value” than what the company has promised.

The 17-page lawsuit claims the product, touted as an organic two-part mixture consisting of an herbicide and biological surfactant, is in reality a non-organic, synthetic herbicide that contains glyphosate and diquat, which are both prohibited for use in organic production.

“Prior to Plaintiffs’ purchases of Weed Slayer/Agro Gold WS, Defendants represented to Plaintiffs that this product was natural, organic, suitable for use on organic crops, and contained essential oil as its only ingredient,” the complaint out of California federal court says. “These representations were false.”

Glyphosate was for decades the herbicide of choice for commercial and home growers looking to eliminate weeds and support healthy plant and crop growth, the suit says. Glyphosate, developed in the 1970s by Monsanto scientists, has been marketed by the company for agricultural use under the trade name Roundup, the case notes.

In 2015, however, the World Health Organization classified glyphosate as “possibly carcinogenic to humans,” and the compound became in subsequent years the subject of a number of lawsuits related to Monsanto’s failure to warn consumers of the cancer risks posed by Roundup. The suit notes Monsanto parent company Bayer agreed in 2020 to pay more than $10 billion to settle “approximately one hundred thousand cases” it faced from Roundup users who alleged they experienced adverse health effects linked to glyphosate.

In the wake of the litigation, the lawsuit says, cities and municipalities began to ban the use of glyphosate-based herbicides, and consumers more frequently began to turn to products that did not contain the probable carcinogen.

According to the complaint, Agro Research International advertises its Weed Slayer/Agro Gold WS as an “organic alternative” to popular synthetic herbicides, describing the product online as containing one part herbicide and one part “biological soap” that must be added to the herbicide to assist the compound in penetrating through the leaf. The lawsuit says that the product’s label “does not disclose any additional active ingredients” other than clove-oil-derived Eugenol, water and molasses, with the second part of the mixture containing “bacteria and 65 % water.” 

Despite the defendant’s representations, Agro Gold WS contains the synthetic, non-organic active ingredients glyphosate and diquat, the lawsuit alleges.

The suit goes on to state that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announced on December 4, 2020 that a lab analysis of Agro Gold WS “detected the presence of Diquat and Glyphosate,” substances banned by the USDA for use in organic production. Per the complaint, the CDFA issued a Stop Use Notice and Statewide Quarantine and Removal from Sale Order for the product to all organic operations in California given the apparent risk to public health posed by the use of Agro Gold WS.

The lawsuit aims to represent any consumer who bought Weed Slayer, Agro Gold WS, or both, in California at any time from July 27, 2015 to the present. One plaintiff looks to represent a subclass consisting of members of the aforementioned proposed class who suffered an injury to a commercial interest in reputation or sales as a result of their use of Weed Slayer, Agro Gold WS or both.

Alleged in the complaint are violations of California’s False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

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