The Monsanto Company recently pleaded guilty to a smattering of environmental crimes related to its use of a pesticide known as Forfeit 280. Last week, a District Court accepted the terms, which require Monsanto to pay $12 million in fines after it was found to have used the pesticide and, on 30 occasions, allowed workers to enter fields following its spraying. Due to regulations on products like Forfeit 280, that activity was not only illegal but put workers’ health at risk. No one may enter a field where Forfeit 280 is used until six days after it’s been sprayed. The main active ingredient in Forfeit 280, glufosinate-ammonium, is considered dangerous if inhaled or ingested.

Yet another violation from the Monsanto Company came from using the banned pesticide Penncap-M at its Valley Farm facility in Kihei, where the chemical was sprayed on corn seeds and research crops. Penncap-M’s active ingredient, methyl parathion, was formally banned through an EPA cancellation order that barred it from being sold from 2014 onward. Monsanto was found to have used the product that year. The company also illegally stored more than 100 gallons of Penncap-M in its Valley, Maalaea, and Piilani locations on Maui. Monsanto maintains that “no adverse health effects associated with the Hawaii matters have been reported to the company. This flies in the face of an ongoing lawsuit against Monsanto’s parent company, Bayer, filed by two families living near Monsanto fields on Maui.

The lawsuit, Dana Fulton, et al. vs. Bayer A G, et al., was filed in 2019 and detailed the health complications experienced by Dana Fulton and Max Coleman, both of whom grew up in a subdivision just 500 feet from the Monsanto Mokulele field. Fulton, born in 1991, experienced congenital disabilities that led to four major surgeries and resulted in Fulton needing a tracheotomy tube. Coleman, who was born in 2002, also experienced birth defects that later led to limited kidney function and severe ADHD. The families were unaware of the risks of pesticides blowing into their community from Monsanto fields until they heard a radio ad linking birth defects with pesticide exposure, according to the Maui News. The problem appears to extend to other areas where Monsanto does business in Hawaii. A 2015 Guardian article detailed the spike in congenital disabilities that many in the community believe have been caused by Monsanto and other GMO companies.

Monsanto has continued to sidestep accountability whenever possible and push its agenda forward regardless of public opinion. It was one of a handful of GMO companies that spent $7.2 million campaigning against a 2014 Maui ballot initiative temporarily banning GMO farming until environmental impact statements could be completed. The initiative ultimately passed, but legal challenges led to its demise in 2016 after a judge ruled that state laws took precedent over Maui County’s GMO moratorium. Even in the case of endangering workers with Forfeit 280, Monsanto isn’t exactly apologizing for its conduct. In a statement released early last month, Monsanto simply said it “regretted” sending workers into Forfeit 280-saturated fields, using banned pesticides, and illegally storing its stockpile of Penncap-M.

The fight against GMO companies has been a long one for Hawaiian communities. As the Honolulu Civil-Beat notes, the millions of dollars in penalties against Monsanto might not mean a whole lot (Monsanto is on the Fortune 500 and boasts assets exceeding $21 billion), but admitting to 30 infractions could certainly reignite the anti-GMO movement in Hawaii and potentially push lawmakers to introduce bills requiring additional oversight and restrictions. Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee Chair Mike Gabbard told the Honolulu Civil-Beat that he wants companies like Monsanto out of Hawaii if they continue their illegal conduct. “If these guys can’t play by the rules … they don’t belong here,” Gabbard told the outlet.

GMOs can be a complicated issue: The produce harvested is itself generally safe for consumption, but growing methods can negatively impact an environment, and an increase in pesticide use can pose a risk to humans, as seen from the Dana Fulton, et al. vs. Bayer A G, et al. lawsuit. However, one thing is certain: Leaving it up to Monsanto and other companies to police themselves and do right by the communities they’re in certainly isn’t going to cut it.