Overview
- Vermont became the first U.S. state to outlaw paraquat with a statute that takes effect Nov. 1 and allows limited, time‑bound use on orchards, berries and small fruit crops until Dec. 31, 2030 to ease the transition for growers.
- Lawmakers and Parkinson’s advocates pointed to epidemiological and lab studies that suggest pesticide exposure can raise Parkinson’s risk as the key reason for the ban.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is continuing a formal safety review and has said the evidence does not establish a clear causal link to Parkinson’s, while Syngenta has announced plans to end global manufacture but continues to defend the product’s safety.
- Vermont farmers and agricultural groups warn the ban could raise costs and hurt competitiveness because paraquat is a low‑cost, widely used herbicide and some alternatives require more labor or carry other tradeoffs.
- The move follows international precedents where dozens of countries have banned paraquat and arrives as dozens of U.S. lawsuits allege links between the herbicide and Parkinson’s, making Vermont a potential test case for other states and federal policy.