Whitewash - Carey Gillam

Rachel Carson Environment Book Award, First Place (2018) IPPY Outstanding Book of the Year: Most Likely to Save the Planet (2018) Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award (2018) "Reads like a mystery novel as Gillam skillfully uncovers Monsanto's secretive strategies." Erin Brockovich "A damning picture...Gillam expertly covers a contentious front." Publishers Weekly"A must-read."Booklist"Hard-hitting, eye-opening narrative."Kirkus It's the pesticide on our dinner plates, a chemical so pervasive it's in the air we breathe, our water, our soil, and evenfound increasingly in our own bodies. Known as Monsanto's Roundup by consumers, and as glyphosate by scientists, theworld's most popular weed killer is used everywhere from backyard gardens to golf courses to millions of acres offarmland. For decades it's been touted as safe enough to drink, but a growing body of evidence indicates just theopposite, 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 andagriculture,exposing new evidence of corporate influence. Gillam introduces readers to farm families devastated bycancers which they believe are caused by the chemical, and to scientists whose reputations have been smeared forpublishing research that contradicted business interests. Readers learn about the arm twisting of regulators who signedoff on the chemical, echoing company assurances of safety even as they permitted higher residues of the pesticide in foodand skipped compliance tests. And,in startling detail,Gillam reveals secret industry communications that pull back thecurtain on corporate efforts to manipulate public perception. Whitewash is more than an expos about the hazards of one chemical or even the influence of one company. It's a story ofpower, politics, and the deadly consequences of putting corporate interests ahead of public safety.