Whitewash The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of
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 po
- PDF / 6,987,543 Bytes
- 325 Pages / 439.43 x 666.225 pts Page_size
- 57 Downloads / 167 Views
d Press’ mission is to provide the best ideas and information to those seeking to understand and protect the environment and create solutions to its complex problems. Join our newsletter to get the latest news on authors, events, and free book giveaways. Click here to join now!
Whitewash
Whitewash THE STORY OF A WEED KILLER, CANCER, AND THE CORRUPTION OF SCIENCE
Carey Gillam
Washington | Covelo | London
Copyright © 2017 Carey Gillam All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 2000 M Street NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20036. ISLAND PRESS is a trademark of the Center for Resource Economics. Island Press would like to thank Deborah Wiley for generously supporting the publication of this book. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in the book and Island Press was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial capital letters (e.g., Roundup). Library of Congress Control Number: 2017940669 All Island Press books are printed on environmentally responsible materials. Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Keywords: agrichemicals, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), genetically modified organisms (GMOs), glyphosate, herbicide, Monsanto, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), pesticide resistance, Roundup, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
For the farmers who have given me their time, shared their wisdom, and helped me understand the obstacles they face as they work to feed us all.
Agriculture . . . is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness. —Thomas Jefferson, letter to George Washington, 1787
Contents Preface xi Introduction: A Silent Stalker 1 Chapter 1. What Killed Jack McCall? 7 Chapter 2. An Award-Winning Discovery 23 Chapter 3. The “Roundup Ready” Rollout 43 Chapter 4. Weed Killer for Breakfast 55 Chapter 5. Under the Microscope 79 Chapter 6. Spinning the Science 113 Chapter 7. A Poisoned Paradise 135 Chapter 8. Angst in Argentina 153 Chapter 9. Uproar in Europe 169 Chapter 10. When Weeds Don’t Die, But Butterflies Do 189 Chapter 11. Under the Influence 215
x
contents
Chapter 12. Seeking Solutions 235 Epilogue 249 Acknowledgments 253 Notes 255 About the Author 295 Index 297
Preface
It’s been nearly twenty years since I first walked into the corporate headquarters of Monsanto Company, a visit that would become one of many over the course of my career as a national correspondent for Reuters, one of the oldest and largest news agencies in the world. Meeting with top executives, scientists, and marketing experts at Monsanto, perhaps the world’s best-known agricultural powerhouse, was part of a job that called on me to help keep international audiences informed about th
Data Loading...
