Carey Gillam

The Monsanto Papers: Deadly Secrets, Corporate Corruption, and One Man’s Search for Justice 

Lee Johnson was a man with simple dreams. All he wanted was a steady job and a nice home for his wife and children, something better than the hard life he knew growing up. He never imagined that he would become the face of a David-and-Goliath showdown against one of the world’s most powerful corporate giants. But a workplace accident left Lee doused in a toxic chemical and facing a deadly cancer that turned his life upside down. In 2018, the world watched as Lee was thrust to the forefront of one the most dramatic legal battles in recent history.
 
The Monsanto Papers is the inside story of Lee Johnson’s landmark lawsuit against Monsanto. For Lee, the case was a race against the clock, with doctors predicting he wouldn’t survive long enough to take the witness stand. For the eclectic band of young, ambitious lawyers representing him, it was a matter of professional pride and personal risk, with millions of dollars and hard-earned reputations on the line. For the public at large, the lawsuit presented a question of corporate accountability. With enough money and influence, could a company endanger its customers, hide evidence, manipulate regulators, and get away with it all—for decades?
 
Readers will be astounded by the depth of corruption uncovered, captivated by the shocking twists, and moved by Lee’s quiet determination to see justice served. With gripping narrative force that reads like fiction, The Monsanto Papers takes readers behind the scenes of a grueling legal battle, pulling back the curtain on the frailties of the American court system and the lengths to which lawyers will go to fight corporate wrongdoing.    

Show highlights:

Lee Johnson was the first man to sue Monsanto; he won a 230 million Jury award.

He had ongoing exposure to glyphosates as his job was a school grounds teacher.

He found the attorneys on the internet to take on his case by contingency up to 40% for attorneys.

Without regulators this is the only option to hire attorneys like this.

How can it be proven in a courtroom that this chemical caused his cancer?

His disease was Non Hodgkin’s lymphoma

He was given 18 months to live in 2015; he is in poor health, but still alive.

Monsanto had documents showing they knew glyphosates caused DNA damage and were key writers of so called independent studies proving glyphosate is safe.

The main attorney for Lee Johnson had a massive accident right before the trial. Was Monsanto involved in the accident?

Glyphosate makes about 5 billion per year.

Bayer paid 63 Billion for Monsanto cash

Jury awarded 289 million; Lee Johnson ended up with $20 million at the end of the day

There are now over 100,000 lawsuits against Monsanto out there.

There was a whole campaign against Carey for doing this research and book.

How can glyphosate survive all these lawsuits?

They have settled many cases out of court and have an 11 Billion fund for this; payouts on average for victims are $50,000.

They are considering taking glyphosate out of the private retail outlets and just keeping it for agriculture.

FDA report found 212 pesticides in the food system from weed killers, pesticides…etc.

Sharon Lerner of the Intercept has lots of goodies for further research.