Monsanto pleads guilty to pesticide-related crimes in Hawaii

By CALEB JONES
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — The Monsanto company pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally using and storing agricultural chemicals in Hawaii, and will pay $12 million in fines. Monsanto was charged with 30 environmental crimes after allowing workers to go into corn fields on Oahu in 2020 after a product named Forfeit 280 was sprayed. Federal law prohibits people from entering areas where the chemical is sprayed within six days of application. Monsanto agreed to three years of probation in addition to the fines and will continue an “environmental compliance program” overseen by a third-party, according to the U.S Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, which handled the prosecution.