Carey was a guest on the show back in May presenting her incredible investigation into Monsanto’s RoundUp and the health issues it creates. In light of the recent landmark ruling against Monsanto, we catch up with Carey once again. This is an important show and one to share.

Carey Gillam

Author of WHITEWASH: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science

It’s the pesticide on our dinner plates, a chemical so pervasive it’s in the air we breathe, our water, our soil, and even found increasingly in our own bodies. Known as Monsanto’s Roundup by consumers, and as glyphosate by scientists, the world’s most popular weed killer is used everywhere from backyard gardens to golf courses to millions of acres of farmland. For decades it’s been touted as safe enough to drink, but a growing body of evidence indicates just the opposite, with research tying the chemical to cancers and a host of other health threats.

In Whitewash, veteran journalist Carey Gillam uncovers one of the most controversial stories in the history of food and agriculture, exposing new evidence of corporate influence. Gillam introduces readers to farm families devastated by cancers which they believe are caused by the chemical, and to scientists whose reputations have been smeared for publishing research that contradicted business interests. Readers learn about the arm-twisting of regulators who signed off on the chemical, echoing company assurances of safety even as they permitted higher residues of the pesticide in food and skipped compliance tests. And, in startling detail, Gillam reveals secret industry communications that pull back the curtain on corporate efforts to manipulate public perception.

Whitewash is more than an exposé about the hazards of one chemical or even the influence of one company. It’s a story of power, politics, and the deadly consequences of putting corporate interests ahead of public safety. The Society for Environmental Journalists says Gillam “comes at one of the world’s most powerful corporations hard and doesn’t hold back, something legions of other journalists have been reluctant to do.”

Carey Gillam is a Kansas girl, of the heart and home. But her research has taken her throughout rural America. She has spent time with row crop farmers, ranchers, vegetable growers and orchard operators from the Dakotas to Texas, and from California to the Southeast. She has been welcomed inside the high-tech laboratories, greenhouses and corporate offices of some of the largest U.S. agribusinesses. And she has spent countless hours interviewing key U.S. regulators, lawmakers, and scientists. With years of this behind-the-scenes reporting, Gillam has developed deep insight into the risks and rewards of the modern-day food system, and hopes to share that knowledge with others who care about the food they eat and feed to their families.

visit Carey’s website

The large punitive damage award of 250 million dollars is because the jury found that Monsanto knowingly and willfully deceived customers claiming Round Up was safe when they knew differently.

The jury found that this chemical caused “substantial catastrophic” damages to the plaintiff.

Bayer, who purchased Monsanto some years ago, stock price fell as much as 15% after this defeat in court

The big 450 plaintiff multi district suit now in progress in San Francisco is the next big challenge for Bayer and could go on for some time

The paper, published Feb. 2, 2016 in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Sciences Europe, reports that to date 18.9 billion pounds (8.6 billion kilograms) of glyphosate have been used globally. Glyphosate use has risen almost 15-fold since so-called “Roundup Ready” genetically engineered crops were introduced in 1996.

In 2014, enough glyphosate was sprayed to leave more than three-quarters of a pound of the active ingredient on every harvested acre of cropland in the U.S., and remarkably, almost a half pound per acre on all cropland worldwide (0.53 kilogram/hectare).

Carey Gillam, investigative reporter and author gives us analysis of recent court victory against Round Up, August 14, 2018