By Carey Gillam A veteran leader within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced her immediate departure from the agency on Thursday, two days after it came to light that she had been offering guidance to a leading Coca-Cola advocate who was seeking to influence world health authorities on sugar and beverage policy matters. … CDC Official Exits Agency After Coca-Cola Connections Come to Light
Carey Gillam’s “Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science (Island Press) has received rave reviews since its release last fall and has received several awards for outstanding reporting: Winner, 2018 Rachel Carson Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists 2018 Gold Medal winner, Outstanding Book of the Year, … Rachel Carson Environment Book Award Winner: Whitewash by Carey Gillam
A new study published Tuesday found that after switching to an organic diet for just a few days, people could cut the levels of a pesticide linked to cancer found in their urine by more than 70 percent. The researchers collected a total of 158 urine samples from four families –seven adults and nine children … U.S. study shows switch to organic diet can quickly clear pesticide from our bodies
(Update with EPA explanation) In an unusual move, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has deleted the name of a high-ranking U.S. health official from a public comment that warned of cancer links to the weed killing chemical glyphosate and called for a halt to industry manipulation of research. The public comment in question was submitted … EPA removes name of U.S. official from warning of glyphosate cancer links
As researchers we often look to documents to shed new light on issues important to food policy. Sometimes, they simply reflect what we already know. That’s the case with one new communication string that adds to evidence of a far-reaching strategy by food industry players to discredit and diminish the world’s leading cancer research agency. … Email of intrigue: “IARC is killing us!”
As summer turns to fall, the Maine landscape is beautiful to behold. Lush forests stretch as far as the eye can see in a tapestry of green, yellow and crimson-colored leaves. Every few miles along a narrow roadway, restored wooden barns adjoin modest homes set on tidy acres where farm families coax food from the … A Message from Maine: It’s Time to Get Serious About Sustainability
The mysterious delay of what was supposed to be a closely watched St. Louis showdown over claims that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicides cause cancer has stirred speculation that a settlement may be in the offing and heartened investors in Monsanto’s German owner Bayer, who feared a fourth trial loss. The trial in St. Louis, Monsanto’s former … Speculation Over Settlement as Roundup Cancer Trial Postponed
A federal judge on Monday had harsh words for Bayer AG’s plan to delay potential future Roundup cancer lawsuits and block jury trials, criticizing the highly unusual proposal crafted by Bayer and a small group of plaintiffs’ attorneys as potentially unconstitutional. The “Court is skeptical of the propriety and fairness of the proposed settlement, and … Court frowns on Bayer’s proposed Roundup class-action settlement
Insiders at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have alleged dozens of violations of the agency’s “scientific integrity ” policy over the last few years, including complaints of political interference and tampering with chemical risk assessments, but nearly all the complaints have been ignored, according to an analysis conducted by a nonprofit group representing EPA employees. … EPA’s “scientific integrity” program lacks teeth, group alleges
Ultra-processed foods can accelerate aging and the decline of your body’s health, even if you generally eat healthy foods, say Italian researchers in a new report based on the largest population study of its kind in Europe.
Dicamba(3, 6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid) is a broad-spectrum herbicide first registered in 1967. The herbicide is used on agricultural crops, fallow land, pastures, turfgrass and rangeland. Dicamba is also registered for non-agricultural uses in residential areas and other sites, such as golf courses where it is primarily used to control broadleaf weeds such as dandelions, chickweed, clover … Dicamba: Concerns about health risks and crop damage
Concerns about the world’s most widely used herbicide are taking a new twist as researchers unveil data that indicates pervasive use of Monsanto Co.’s weed killer could be linked to pregnancy problems. Researchers looking at exposure to the herbicide known as glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup branded herbicides, said they tested and tracked … Moms Exposed to Monsanto Weed Killer Means Bad Outcomes for Babies
By Carey Gillam The U.S. Department of Agriculture has quietly dropped a plan to start testing food for residues of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used weed killer and the key ingredient in Monsanto Co.’s branded Roundup herbicides. The agency spent the last year coordinating with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Food and … USDA Drops Plan to Test for Monsanto Weed Killer in Food
Independent testing on an array of popular American food products found many samples contained residue levels of the weed killer called glyphosate, leading the nonprofit organization behind the testing to call for corporate and regulatory action to address consumer safety concerns. The herbicide residues were found in cookies, crackers, popular cold cereals and chips commonly … Tests Show Monsanto Weed Killer in Cheerios, Other Popular Foods
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has gone where the U.S. government dares not tread – testing thousands of foods commonly consumed by its citizens for residues of a controversial herbicide linked to cancer. And the findings are less than appetizing. The agency said it found the pesticide known as glyphosate, the key ingredient in Monsanto … Canadians Report Weed Killer Detected in 30 Percent of Food Tested
In a well-orchestrated and highly coordinated media coup, Monsanto Co. and friends this week dropped a bombshell on opponents who are seeking to prove that the company’s beloved Roundup herbicide causes cancer. A widely circulated story published June 14 in the global news outlet Reuters (for which I formerly worked) laid out what appeared to … Monsanto Spin Doctors Target Cancer Scientist In Flawed Reuters Story
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has resumed its first-ever endeavor to evaluate how much of a controversial chemical is making its way into the U.S. food supply. And the tests can’t come soon enough as safety concerns about the herbicide known as glyphosate grow. The FDA, the nation’s chief food safety regulator, launched what … FDA Resumes Testing Foods For Weed Killer, Safety Questions Grow
Newly released government email communications show a persistent effort by multiple officials within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to slow a separate federal agency’s safety review of Monsanto’s top-selling herbicide. Notably, the records demonstrate that the EPA efforts came at the behest of Monsanto, and that EPA officials were helpful enough to keep the chemical … Collusion or Coincidence? Records Show EPA Efforts to Slow Herbicide Review Came in Coordination with Monsanto
Dozens of farmers around the United States are suing the former Monsanto Co., purchased in 2018 by Bayer AG, and conglomerate BASF in an effort to hold the companies accountable for millions of acres of crop damage the farmers claim is due to widespread illegal use of the weed killing chemical dicamba, use promoted by … The Dicamba Papers: Key documents and analysis
On January 10, 2021 The Guardian published this story about a small rural Nebraska community that has been struggling for at least two years with contamination tied to neonicotinoid-coated corn seed. The source is an area ethanol plant that has been marketing itself as a free “recycling” location for seed companies such as Bayer, Syngenta … Neonicotinoids: a growing concern
A plan to delay any new Roundup cancer claims for years and shift the key question of whether or not the weed killer causes cancer from a jury to a hand-picked panel of scientists faces potential opposition from some of the plaintiffs’ attorneys who initiated and led the mass tort claims against Roundup maker Monsanto, … Challenge eyed to class action plan for Bayer Roundup settlement
A trial set to start next week over claims that Monsanto’s Roundup weed killers cause cancer has been postponed until at least next year, according to a judge’s ruling on Friday. The trial would have been the first of its kind to take place in the St. Louis area, Monsanto’s hometown before the company sold … Another St. Louis Roundup Cancer Trial Officially Postponed Until 2020
As Bayer AG seeks to discount concerns that Monsanto’s glyphosate-based herbicides cause cancer, several new studies are raising questions about the chemical’s potential impact on reproductive health. An assortment of animal studies released this summer indicate that glyphosate exposures impact reproductive organs and could threaten fertility, adding fresh evidence that the weed killing agent might … New weed killer studies raise concern for reproductive health
By Carey Gillam The Food and Drug Administration, under public pressure to start testing samples of U.S. food for the presence of a pesticide that has been linked to cancer, has some early findings that are not so sweet. In examining honey samples from various locations in the United States, the FDA has found fresh … FDA Finds Monsanto’s Weed Killer In U.S. Honey
Lawyers suing Swiss chemical company Syngenta are asking a U.S. judicial panel to consolidate more than a dozen similar lawsuits under the oversight of a federal judge in California. The move is a telling sign of the expansion of litigation that alleges the company’s weed killing products cause Parkinson’s Disease. According to the motion, filed … Move to consolidate U.S. paraquat litigation as cases mount against Syngenta
A U.S. judicial panel has ordered the pretrial consolidation of dozens of lawsuits against Syngenta and Chevron over allegations that paraquat weed killer, which has been used widely around the world for more than 50 years, causes Parkinson’s disease. The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation said that “to date, 77 actions and potential tag-along … Consolidation approved for lawsuits against Syngenta and Chevron over herbicide
See Carey Gillam’s article in The Guardian, Corporate studies asserting herbicide safety show many flaws, new analysis finds (July 2, 2021). In this post we provide links to the 53 once-secret studies and related materials. Questions about the safety of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) have persisted for years, as scientific research has split over whether or … New analysis of glyphosate industry studies finds them outdated, flawed
Syngenta AG is facing a growing number of U.S. lawsuits over allegations that its paraquat herbicide causes Parkinson’s disease, with a Fresno, California man pushing for an expedited trial that potentially would start within the next few months, and multiple plaintiffs’ lawyers jockeying for power and influence over future trial proceedings. Plaintiff George Isaak used … Litigation against Syngenta grows; lawyers fight over evidence and trial dates
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a long and well-documented history of questionable conduct when it comes to regulation of chemicals important to the profit centers for many large and powerful corporations. Numerous examples show a pattern of agency actions that allow for the use of dangerous chemicals by consumers, farmers, groundskeepers and others … EPA exposed for hiding chemical risks, favoring corporate interests
Covid-19 is exposing serious problems with our food system. In this post, U.S. Right to Know is tracking important food news news related to the coronavirus pandemic.To receiveweekly updates and breaking news from the USRTK investigations, please sign up for our newsletter. Topics (drop links) Most Recent Articles Obesity and Coronavirus Eating Ultra-processed Food Increases … Coronavirus Food News Tracker: Best articles on the pandemic and our food system
ACalifornia appeals court should reject efforts by Monsanto to overturn a jury verdict awarding millions of dollars to a school groundskeeper and approve $250 million in punitive damages the jury ordered a year ago this month in the first Roundup cancer trial, according to a brief in the case filed Monday. The brief filed by … “Serious, Deadly Injury” Cited in New Appeals Court Filing Over Roundup Cancer Claims
You’ve heard the mantra over and over – there are no safety concerns associated with genetically engineered crops. That refrain, music to agrichemical and biotech seed industry ears, has been sung repeatedly by U.S. lawmakers who have just passed a national law that allows companies to avoid stating on food packages if those products contain … Keeping Secrets From Consumers: Labeling Law a Win for Industry-Academic Collaborations
After several months out of the headlines, lawyers for both sides of the nationwide Roundup cancer litigation are gearing up for overlapping trials in the new year as several more cancer patients seek to blame Monsanto for their diseases. Six trials are currently set to take place starting in January, with one in February, two … Six Monsanto Roundup Cancer Trials Set for January
The heaviest of Big Ag’s heavy hitters told a federal court it should not try to stop GMO cotton and soybean farmers from using illegal dicamba weed killers through the end of July, despite the court’s order earlier this month for an immediate ban. Six national trade associations, all of which have long-standing financial ties … Big Ag groups argue court cannot tell EPA when to ban dicamba
In an expensive clean-up of Monsanto litigation messes, Bayer AG said Wednesday that it will pay out more than $10 billion to settle tens of thousands of U.S. claims brought against Monsanto over its Roundup herbicide, as well as $400 million to resolve lawsuits over Monsanto’s dicamba herbicide and $650 million for PCB pollution claims. … Bayer settles U.S. Roundup, dicamba and PCB litigation for more than $10 billion
Scientists brought more bad news to light regarding the widely used herbicide glyphosate, better known as Roundup, in a new research paper published this month. Researchers from the University of Turku in Finland revealed in a paper published in the journal Science of The Total Environment that manure from poultry used as fertilizer can decrease … Glyphosate in chicken poop used as fertilizer is hurting food production, researchers say
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is quietly starting to test certain foods for residues of a weed killing chemical linked to cancer, has found the residues in a variety of oat products, including plain and flavored oat cereals for babies. Data compiled by an FDA chemist and presented to other chemists at a … FDA Tests Confirm Oatmeal, Baby Foods Contain Residues of Monsanto Weed Killer
Monsanto Shareholders Meeting Draws Fire An array of GMO and pesticide critics spoke out at Monsanto Co.’s annual meeting of shareholders on Friday, Jan. 29 in the company’s hometown of Creve Coeur, Missouri, calling on the company to address concerns about the company’s genetically engineered crop products and the glyphosate-based Roundup herbicide used on those … Big Week for Big Ag Players Monsanto and Dow
By Carey Gillam As the active ingredient in Monsanto’s branded Roundup weed killer, along with hundreds of other weed-killing products, the chemical called glyphosate spells billions of dollars in sales for Monsanto and other companies each year as farmers around the world use it in their fields and orchards. Ubiquitous in food production, glyphosate is … Not Just For Corn and Soy: A Look at Glyphosate Use in Food Crops
By Carey Gillam They’re calling it a glyphosate “revolution.” Consumers around the world are waking up to the fact that they’re living in a world awash in the weed-killing pesticide known as glyphosate. And they don’t like it one bit. Over the last several years, some scientists have been warning that the long-touted environmental and … Glyphosate ‘Revolution’ Growing — Consumers Want Answers
In America, one of the fundamental principles of our democracy is that our government works for us. We are supposed to have a “government of the people, by the people, for the people” as President Abraham Lincoln famously said. To help ensure that principle is upheld we recognize that public access to information about government … Broken FOIA Far from Healing as U.S. Agencies Cheat Public
Testing for residues of an herbicide developed by Monsanto Co. that has been linked to cancer has turned up high levels in honey from the key farm state of Iowa, adding to concerns about herbicide contamination that have triggered at least two lawsuits against honey industry players and prompted scrutiny by regulators. The Food and … More Bad News for Honey as U.S. Seeks to Get Handle on Glyphosate Residues in Foods
News that President-elect Donald Trump is considering U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo for a cabinet slot illustrates just how dark the days ahead might be for America’s burgeoning “food movement,” which has been advocating for more transparency and fewer pesticides in food production. Pompeo, a Republican from the farm state of Kansas, was the designated hitter … Trump Talk Of Pompeo For Cabinet Could Spell Setback For Consumers
As Americans gather their families to share a Thanksgiving meal this week, new government data offers a potentially unappetizing assessment of the U.S. food supply: Residues of many types of insecticides, fungicides and weed killing chemicals have been found in roughly 85 percent of thousands of foods tested. Data released last week by the U.S. … New Data on Pesticides in Food Raises Safety Questions
Now it’s getting interesting. A new court filing made on behalf of dozens of people claiming Monsanto Co.’s Roundup herbicide gave them cancer includes information about alleged efforts within the Environmental Protection Agency to protect Monsanto’s interests and unfairly aid the agrichemical industry. The filing, made late Friday by plaintiff’s attorneys, includes what the attorneys … Questions about EPA-Monsanto collusion raised in cancer lawsuits
Call it the case of the mysterious mouse tumor. It’s been 34 years since Monsanto Co. presented U.S. regulators with a seemingly routine study analyzing the effects the company’s best-selling herbicide might have on rodents. Now, that study is once again under the microscope, emerging as a potentially pivotal piece of evidence in litigation brought … Of Mice, Monsanto and a Mysterious Tumor
The Food and Drug Administration has responded to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for information regarding its efforts to start testing food samples for residues of glyphosate as well as some other herbicides, including 2, 4-D. Many of those documents can be accessed below: FDA FOIA 2017-7005 FDA FOIA 2017-7005 part 2 FDA Final … FDA FOIA Documents Regarding Glyphosate Residue Testing
With legal and shareholder pressure mounting, Bayer AG on Thursday was preparing to launch an initiative to “regain public trust” after its acquisition last year of Monsanto Co. brought Bayer thousands of lawsuits filed by cancer victims and damning revelations of corporate deception surrounding years of health concerns about Monsanto’s glyphosate-based Roundup herbicides. The plan … Bayer Internal Emails Says Seeks to “Regain Public Trust” Amid Monsanto Mess
Journalists around the globe have reacted with outrage to revelations published in The Guardian this week that show Thanos Dimadis, the former executive director of the Foreign Press Foundation, offered an unusual arrangement to Bayer AG that called for using the press organization, which is dedicated to protecting a free press, in ways that would … See the Email Trail Showing Influence Peddling by Press Association to Bayer
With the turn of the calendar to June, farmers in the U.S. Midwest are wrapping up the planting of new soybean crops and tending to growing fields of young corn plants and vegetable plots. But many are also bracing to be hit by an invisible enemy that has wreaked havoc in farm country the last … Dicamba: Farmers fear another season of crop damage; court ruling awaited
