You must have heard about the $2 billion dollar win for our cause via the Pilliod v Monsanto trial by now. It's everywhere. It's glorious. We celebrate this tremendous win! And we wish to remind the public of what is really going on here. Some things are simply not being mentioned in the media.

Moms Across America asked nicely. We went to the Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) shareholders' meeting and asked 1,000 shareholders and the entire board of directors to "change direction, away from this toxic treadmill of chemical cocktails." I asked for them to consider the job security of their employees, pointing out that a business plan which includes poison is not a viable long-term plan, and that many could lose their jobs. Other moms like Anne Temple also asked them to "mitigate the inevitable litigation," to protect their own shareholder value, and to stop selling Roundup and glyphosate herbicides now.

They ignored us.

They belittled us.

And they funded movies and shills to discredit us.

Even though we were "just moms," the attacks were vicious.

Monsanto Jury in Historic Revolt Against Judge Attempting to Toss Out Their Unanimous Verdict

In an unprecedented display of commitment to justice, eight of the 12 jurors and two alternates who served on the Johnson v Monsanto trial, 10 total, took a day off work, left their families, and showed up at the San Francisco Court last week to let Judge Bolanos know they want their verdict to stand. The “Trial of The Century” as many are calling it, resulted in a $289.2 million award by the jury from Monsanto to Dwayne “Lee” Johnson, a school pesticide applicator who contracted a terminal case of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma while using Monsanto’s glyphosate herbicide products Roundup and Ranger Pro.

Upon arrival, “the courtroom was so full,” recounted Robert Howard, juror number four, in an interview with me, “that one of the jurors had to sit in his/her old seat. The Judge definitely noticed our presence.”

He shared how, for a long time, he and his fellow jurors, for whom he has the highest regard, remained silent. He referred to the saying, “Silence cannot be misquoted.” But when he saw the notice that the jury verdict might be overturned, he and several jurors knew it was time to speak up.

By Neil Young and Daryl Hannah

Updated: Oct. 14, 2018 11:12 a.m.

As originally posted in the San Francisco Chronicle