Carey Gillam

Investigative journalist Carey Gillam has spent more than 20 years reporting on the health and environmental impacts of the agrochemical industry, including 17 years working for Reuters news agency. Her 2017 book about pesticide dangers, Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer and the Corruption of Science, won the 2018 Rachel Carson Book Award from the Society of Environmental Journalists and has become a part of the curriculum in several university environmental health programs.

Gillam’s reporting and writing have led her to become recognized as an international expert on corporate control of agriculture and the health and environmental impacts of a pesticide-dependent food system. She was asked to testify before the European Parliament in 2017 about her findings and was an invited speaker at the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg, France in 2019. She also has been a featured speaker at events throughout North America, Australia, The Netherlands, Brussels, and France.  

Gillam left Reuters in late 2015 to become Research Director for the non-profit consumer group U.S. Right to Know, whose mission is to educate and inform consumers about the often-hidden practices and policies that shape the food system. She also writes occasionally for The Guardian news outlet.

Gillam resides in Overland Park, Kansas, with her husband and three children.

An Excerpt from The Monsanto Papers

"The author builds a convincing case that Monsanto was more interested in protecting the reputation of its cash cow than heeding scientific evidence of its dangerous properties.

2017 Holiday Gift Guide

This holiday season, consider the Icelandic tradition of gifting books. They don't go bad, are one-size-fits-all, and are sure to make anyone on your shopping list smile.With a library of more than 1,000 books, make Island Press your one-stop shop for book buying, so you can get back to enjoying the holidays. To help you out, we've compiled a list of staff selections and mentions on various best-of lists. 

Powerful Forces: Carey Gillam Talks Monsanto, Pesticides, and More

Booklist called it a "must-read." Kirkus deemed it a "hard-hitting, eye-opening narrative." To Publishers Weekly it is "a damning picture." Carey Gillam's Whitewash uncovers one of the most controversial stories in the history of food and agriculture at a time when a new political administration has set about slashing regulations of pesticides.