Carey Gillam

About Carey Gillam

Carey Gillam is the editor-in-chief of The New Lede and 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). 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 March 2, 2021. She also has contributed chapters for a text book about environmental journalism and a book about pesticide use in Africa. Gillam testified as an invited expert before the European Parliament in 2017 about her research, and was a featured speaker at the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg, France in 2019. She also has been a keynote and/or panel speaker at events and universities throughout North America, Australia, The Netherlands, Brussels, and France. Gillam writes regularly for The Guardian. Her work has additionally been published in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Time, and other outlets. In 2022, Gillam helped launch The New Lede as a journalism initiative of the Environmental Working Group. Gillam is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Posts by Carey Gillam:

Florida tests show pesticide in popular breads

Florida officials this week unveiled test results showing multiple breads commonly sold in grocery stores contained residues of glyphosate weed killer, a chemical scientists have linked to cancer.

Citing Parkinson’s risk, Pennsylvania lawmakers push for paraquat ban

A contingent of Pennsylvania lawmakers and Parkinson’s disease research and support groups on Wednesday called for the state to move quickly to ban paraquat, a weed killing chemical commonly used by farmers that scientific research links to the incurable brain disease.

Syngenta settles bellwether US trial over paraquat links to Parkinson’s

On the eve of the opening of what would have been a bellwether US trial over allegations that a widely used weed killer causes Parkinson’s disease, paraquat-maker Syngenta reached a settlement with the retired landscaper who blamed the company for his diagnosis with the incurable brain disease.

First US paraquat trial to start this week, examining links between the pesticide and Parkinson’s disease

A trial with nationwide implications is set to open Wednesday in Philadelphia pitting a retired landscaper suffering from Parkinson’s disease against the multinational agrochemical company Syngenta over accusations that the company’s paraquat weed killing products cause the incurable brain disease.

Outrage at European science center as director ousted after study on glyphosate

A leading European chemical safety institute has fired the director of its cancer research center after the director led an extensive testing program into the safety of the pesticide glyphosate, sparking concerns about chemical industry influence into what has been an independent research institution.

Bayer gets boost as US Supreme Court says it will hear Roundup case

The US Supreme Court said on Friday that it will take up the issue of federal preemption over pesticide warning labels, a move sought by Bayer as a means of blocking costly future litigation over the Roundup weed killer products it inherited from its purchase of Monsanto.

EPA chief ’s MAHA tweet – PR stunt or real progress?

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin sparked news stories around the US last week when he tweeted that the agency had made the “proactive decision to freshly reassess” the safety of the weed killer paraquat, a controversial pesticide widely used by farmers that is linked to Parkinson’s disease.

RFK’s new dietary guidelines win applause, spark criticism

New US dietary guidelines released by the federal government this week received mixed reactions from the health community, with many praising the move to explicitly advise against consuming highly processed foods in favor of whole foods but others concerned about a recommendation to consume red meat.

WATCH: Congress strips pesticide industry shield from bill

Lawmakers removed language in a 2026 federal spending bill that would’ve blocked lawsuits and limited state warnings on pesticide risks — a major win for public health advocates after intense lobbying. TNL Editor-in-Chief Carey Gillam explains.

A “hard fight”- Pesticide industry protection stripped from appropriations bill

In a setback for the pesticide industry, Democrats have succeeded in removing a rider from a congressional appropriations bill that would have helped protect pesticide makers from being sued and could have hindered state efforts to warn about pesticide risks.