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 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.
"In the grand tradition of Silent Spring, Carey Gillam's Whitewash is a powerful expose that sheds light on a chemical that - to most of us - is both entirely invisible and yet profoundly damaging to our bodies and our environment. It is a deeply researched, entirely convincing account of the politics, economics, and global health consequences implicit in the spread of the world's most common herbicide. Gillam has done what all great journalists strive to do: she has made us see clearly what has long been right before our eyes. Highly recommended."---McKay Jenkins, author of Food Fight: GMOs and the Future of the American Diet and ContamiNation: My Quest to Survive in a Toxic World ""Whitewash reads like a mystery novel, as Gillam skillfully uncovers Monsanto's secretive strategies to convince countries around the world that its Roundup products are safe. The book unravels a tapestry of pesticide industry tricks to manipulate the scientific truths about their products while placing profits above human health and the environment. As someone who has experienced similar actions by corporations firsthand in my work far too often, I am hopeful that Carey's book will be a wake-up call for more transparency about the dangers surrounding many chemicals in the marketplace.""---Erin Brockovich, consumer advocate "Whitewash, says Carey Gillam, is what Monsanto, Monsanto-paid scientists, and the Monsanto-influenced EPA are trying to do for the herbicide glyphosate ("Roundup")-make it appear benign in the face of evidence that glyphosate may be carcinogenic, strongly promotes weed resistance, and causes genetically modified crops to require even greater use of toxic chemicals. Gillam's deep dive into corporate manipulation of science gives us even more reasons to advocate for organic and sustainable agricultural systems."---Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Pub
