Carey Gillam

About Carey Gillam

Carey Gillam is Editor in Chief of The New Lede. Gillam is a veteran investigative journalist with more than 30 years of experience covering US news, including 17 years as a senior correspondent with Reuters international news service (1998-2015), and several years as a contributing writer for The Guardian. She is the author of “Whitewash- The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science,” an expose of Monsanto’s corporate corruption of agriculture. The book won the coveted Rachel Carson Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists in 2018. Her second book, a narrative legal thriller titled "The Monsanto Papers", was released in 2021. Gillam is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Posts by Carey Gillam:

June 28, 2025

“PFAS are everywhere” – Fears growing about PFAS in pesticides

By Meg Wilcox

Vicki Blazer has studied the health of the smallmouth bass in the Chesapeake Bay watershed for more than 20 years. As a research fishery biologist for the United States Geological Survey (USGS), she keeps a close eye on pollutants and other environmental factors that could be causing diseases and die-offs plaguing the popular sportfish.

Increasingly, her findings – and her fears – are focused on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and how pesticides containing types of PFAS chemicals appear to be accumulating in the fish.

June 26, 2025

WATCH: Is Bayer losing the Roundup fight?

The New Lede breaks down the latest developments in the courtroom and corporate boardroom and asks the question: is Bayer ready to throw in the towel on Roundup?

June 20, 2025

Bayer settles Missouri Roundup case mid-trial; looks to US Supreme Court

By Carey Gillam

Bayer this week put a halt to its latest courtroom battle over allegations that its weed killing products cause cancer, settling a Missouri case after four weeks of testimony and just as the trial was coming to a close.

June 20, 2025

The role of farming in the exodus of rural America

By Dr. Ryan Schmid

In our race to “feed the world”, farmers and ranchers have been pressed into a system that manufactures food for a growing global population. Farmers have met these challenges head-on, producing an abundance of crops and meat; however, our production of abundance has not come without costs.

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June 17, 2025

Seeking answers to a cancer crisis in Iowa, researchers question if agriculture is to blame

By Carey Gillam

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Six months ago, Alex Hammer was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 37. Dianne Chambers endured surgery, chemotherapy and dozens of rounds of radiation to fight aggressive breast cancer, and Janan Haugen spends most days helping care for her 17-year-old grandson, who is still being treated for brain cancer he developed at the age of 7.

June 10, 2025

New study adds to evidence that glyphosate weed killer can cause cancer

By Carey Gillam

A new long-term animal study of the widely used weed killer glyphosate find fresh evidence that the herbicide, introduced by Monsanto in the 1970s, causes multiple types of cancer, and may do so at doses considered safe by regulators.

June 4, 2025

Dying before their day in court – Syngenta paraquat litigation drags on as Parkinson’s victims suffer

By Carey Gillam

In the nationwide legal battle between pesticide maker Syngenta and thousands of people suffering from Parkinson’s disease they blame on exposure to paraquat weed killer, plaintiffs are dying faster than they can get to trial.

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June 3, 2025

Postcard from California: After the fires, is LA safe from buried toxic hazards? Don’t ask FEMA

FEMA’s denial of funds and the state’s lagging response have left toxics experts and homeowners fearful of what lies beneath the thousands of burned lots.

June 2, 2025

“On the ropes,” Bayer seeks escape from costly Roundup litigation

Bayer executives have been warning in recent weeks that after losing billions of dollars to Roundup case settlements and jury awards, they may be ready to give up the fight.

May 23, 2025

Can Environmentalism Make Sense Again?

At a time when climate-related headlines often read like obituaries for our planet, Earth Day 2025 offered something rare – a reason for hope. Not the naïve optimism that suggests salvation is assured, but rather compelling evidence that we can make people act for good when we get the messaging right.