THE MONSANTO PAPERS

The story of a cancer victim’s search for justice against the multinational chemical conglomerate.

In this follow-up to Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science (2017), which won the Rachel Carson Book Award, investigative journalist Gillam once again takes on Monsanto for its continuing distribution of Roundup, an herbicide whose active ingredient had been classified, in independent testing, as a carcinogen. The narrative follows Lee Johnson, a groundskeeper whose non–Hodgkin lymphoma was linked to his exposure to the herbicide. Gillam writes convincingly about Monsanto’s shameful misdeeds. Examining the nature of mass tort cases and medical malpractice, the gathering of depositions and internal corporate records, jury selection and the trial, the author provides consistent insight into the legal process as well as the moves and countermoves of the lawyers involved. The corporation’s deceptive intent is galling enough, but more shocking is the “cozy relationship between Monsanto and the EPA laid out so clearly in the employees’ own words.” In a careful, sometimes overly detailed text, the author builds a convincing case that Monsanto was more interested in protecting the reputation of its cash cow than heeding scientific evidence of its dangerous properties. Gillam is especially good at rendering the complex dynamics of the legal personalities, which adds a further humanizing dimension to Johnson’s story. For their part, writes the author, Monsanto’s lawyers acted with “arrogance,” “hubris,” and a “lack of professional courtesy,” all in an effort to “wear down the will of the plaintiffs’ legal team.” Monsanto’s assurances about the safety of its product gradually unraveled before the court, and the proceedings revealed secret strategies to alter their scientific records and a corrupt regulatory process that turned oversight into a laughable collusion.

An authoritative takedown of a corporation that evidently cares little for public health.