The Monsanto Company was founded in 1901. Monsanto hit the ground running with food additives, such as caffeine, saccharin, and vanilla extract. It began producing chemicals by the 1920s. These chemicals were used in rubber processing, salicylic acid, sulfuric acid, and PCBs. Monsanto dabbled in the development of nuclear weapons, specifically in the Dayton Project. Monsanto would later go on to partner with some big names in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, namely Bayer, who would eventually buy the company out in 2018. Monsanto was the manufacturer for several controversial and detrimental products that have had long-term consequences: PCBs, DDT, Agent Orange, and bovine growth hormones. Monsanto also created and produced AstroTurf, which some people believe leeches chemicals into athletes and is detrimental to their overall health. I would have liked to have learned more about the shady business dealings that Monsanto got up to, because everyone knows chemical companies are always doing shady business. Especially when they have been in business 100+ years before there were regulations.

This book focuses on the trials involving Roundup. Roundup is a herbicide that was concocted, patented, and marketed by Monsanto until Bayer acquired it in 2018. There are several warnings associated with the use of Roundup, mostly not to ingest it or get it into the eyes. There was no risk of cancer printed on any warning label or in any literature. There have been several studies done, most recently in 2017, about the active ingredient in this product not being a carcinogenic risk to human beings. However, as of 2023, there were over 150,000 claims against Bayer/Monsanto alleging that use of this product led to cancer. Most of these cases rely on the fact that there was no warning about the risk of cancer from use of this product, false advertising, and covering up test results. This product has been dropped from a number of stores and banned in some European countries altogether. While many are keen to side with Bayer/Monsanto, Bayer did settle with a number of people to the tune of several million dollars. Does Roundup cause cancer? I do not know, I am not a scientist...but I would not be shocked if it did.

I have the Audible version of this book, but the physical copy is around 300 pages for those of you interested. I hoped this would have went more into the history of the company, but the main focus was on the court cases involving Roundup. I was more interested to know all the products affiliated with this company other than Roundup. Overall, the book was well researched and offered a lot of insight into the legal troubles of Monsanto and how it has impacted Bayer as a company.