Monsanto / Bayer

Polychlorinated biphenyls were manufactured by Monsanto from the 1930s onward. By the time PCBs were banned in the United States in 1979, Monsanto had produced the overwhelming majority of all PCBs ever made in this country. The contamination record in Anniston, Alabama is among the most extensively documented in American environmental law. Monsanto's Anniston plant discharged both mercury and PCBs into Snow Creek and the surrounding water table. In 1969, company trucks dumped 45 tons of PCBs directly into Snow Creek. Millions of pounds were buried in open-pit landfills. By the time independent testing reached Anniston in the 1990s, the creek ran with an oily sheen. Fish had deformities. The soil in neighborhoods near the plant contained PCB levels orders of magnitude beyond what EPA considers safe. Internal Monsanto documents released during litigation showed the company had known for decades. In August 2003, Monsanto and its chemical successor Solutia settled claims from over 20,000 Anniston residents for $700 million — one of the largest environmental contamination settlements in US history. The settlement did not end the litigation. In June 2020, Bayer agreed to pay $650 million (from an initial $800 million proposal) to settle additional PCB waterway contamination claims. In January 2025, a federal jury ordered Monsanto to pay $100 million to four individuals sickened by PCBs found in a Monroe, Washington elementary school. As of November 2013, Monsanto was associated with 41 federal Superfund sites — 9 active, 32 archived. The cleanup continues. The liability continues. Zero executives were criminally charged.

• —Monsanto responsible for ~99% of all PCBs manufactured in the United States
• —Anniston, Alabama: plant discharged PCB-laden waste and mercury into local waterways 'for over 40 years'
• —1969: Monsanto trucks dumped 45 tons of PCBs into Snow Creek; millions of pounds buried in open landfills
• —Internal documents confirmed company knew of contamination and suppressed findings
• —August 2003: Solutia and Monsanto paid $700M to settle claims from 20,000+ Anniston residents — one of largest US toxic contamination settlements
• —As of 2013: 41 US Superfund sites (9 active, 32 archived) associated with Monsanto
• —June 2020: Bayer agreed to $650M settlement for PCB waterway contamination (Bayer acquired Monsanto 2018)
• —January 2025: Federal jury ordered Monsanto to pay $100M to four people sickened by PCBs at Monroe, WA elementary school
• —Zero executives criminally charged in connection with PCB contamination

For decades, Roundup was Monsanto's highest-revenue product — glyphosate-based weed killer sold under the promise of safety. When the International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO's cancer body) classified glyphosate as 'probably carcinogenic to humans' in 2015, the legal exposure became existential. The Monsanto Papers — internal company documents obtained through litigation discovery and published by the University of California San Francisco — documented the company's strategy for managing scientific opinion on glyphosate. The pattern: ghost-writing safety reviews attributed to independent scientists without disclosure, funding undisclosed paper authors, coordinating with US EPA staff to suppress review processes, and deploying PR campaigns to discredit IARC. In 2000, a glyphosate safety review was published under three non-Monsanto scientists' names. Internal 2017 emails revealed Monsanto had authored the paper. In 2015, Forbes published a column by researcher Henry I. Miller endorsing Roundup's safety — the column had been drafted by Monsanto communications staff. Forbes removed the column and ended its relationship with Miller. The journal Critical Reviews in Toxicology published expressions of concern in 2018 about sponsored glyphosate papers that had not 'fully represent[ed] the involvement of Monsanto or its employees.' In November 2025, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology retracted a Monsanto-linked paper citing lack of authorial independence and misrepresentation of contributions. Dewayne Johnson — a school groundskeeper who developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma after years of Roundup exposure — sued Monsanto in 2018. A California jury awarded him $289 million in August 2018; it was the first glyphosate trial verdict, and it opened the floodgates. 165,000 claims were eventually filed. In June 2020, Bayer agreed to pay $8.8–$9.6 billion to settle over 100,000 of them, plus $1.5 billion earmarked for future claims. As of 2023, 50,000+ claims remained pending. Zero executives were criminally charged.

• —2015: IARC (WHO) classified glyphosate as 'probably carcinogenic to humans' (Group 2A)
• —Monsanto Papers (released 2017): internal emails confirmed ghost-writing of glyphosate safety reviews attributed to independent scientists
• —2015: Monsanto communications staff drafted column published under Henry I. Miller's name; Forbes removed the column and ended their relationship with Miller
• —2018: Journal editor published expressions of concern — glyphosate papers did not disclose Monsanto involvement or financial ties
• —November 2025: Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology retracted Monsanto-linked paper — 'lack of authorial independence,' 'misrepresentation of contributions'
• —August 2018: First jury verdict — Dewayne Johnson awarded $289M (later reduced to $21.5M on appeal)
• —March 2019: Second trial — Edwin Hardeman awarded $80M; verdict upheld on liability
• —May 2019: California couple awarded $2B; reduced to $86.7M
• —June 2020: Bayer settled 100,000+ claims for $8.8–9.6 billion; $1.5B reserved for future claims
• —165,000+ total claims filed; 50,000+ still pending as of 2023
• —Zero executives criminally charged in connection with the disinformation campaign or cancer harm

The mechanism of regulatory capture is rarely documented with this specificity. The Monsanto record is an exception. Michael R. Taylor joined the FDA as Deputy Commissioner for Food Safety in 1991. He departed for Monsanto, where he became Vice President for Public Policy. He returned to the FDA in 2009 as Senior Advisor to the Commissioner, appointed under President Obama — the same period during which the agency was formulating biotech food policy directly affecting Monsanto's GMO product line. Linda J. Fisher served as Assistant Administrator of the EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances — the office responsible for regulating pesticides including glyphosate. She left for Monsanto in 1995, becoming VP of Government Affairs and Public Policy. She returned to the EPA in 2001 as Deputy Administrator under President George W. Bush. Clarence Thomas worked as a Monsanto attorney in the 1970s before his judicial career. As a Supreme Court Justice, he wrote the majority opinion in J.E.M. Ag Supply, Inc. v. Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (2001), which extended the availability of plant patents — a ruling that strengthened the IP enforcement model Monsanto relied upon to maintain control over its genetically modified seed business. Internal EPA documents obtained in glyphosate litigation further documented that agency staff had coordinated with Monsanto regarding the IARC cancer classification and that Monsanto officials had discussed EPA employees who might help manage the regulatory process to the company's advantage. EPA scientist Jess Rowland — identified in those communications as having coordinated with Monsanto on glyphosate's regulatory review — retired from the EPA shortly after the documents were disclosed. Zero individuals were charged with any ethics or criminal violation in connection with these arrangements.

• —Michael R. Taylor: FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Safety (1991–1994) → Monsanto VP for Public Policy → Obama FDA Senior Advisor (2009)
• —Linda J. Fisher: EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances → Monsanto VP Government Affairs and Public Policy (1995–2000) → EPA Deputy Administrator (2001–2003)
• —Clarence Thomas: Monsanto attorney (1970s) → Supreme Court Justice; wrote majority in J.E.M. Ag Supply v. Pioneer Hi-Bred (2001), expanding plant breed patents benefiting Monsanto's seed IP strategy
• —Glyphosate litigation documents: EPA staff coordinated with Monsanto on managing IARC carcinogenicity review
• —EPA scientist Jess Rowland: identified in Monsanto communications as coordinating on glyphosate review; retired from EPA after documents were disclosed in litigation
• —Zero individuals charged with ethics or criminal violations in connection with revolving door arrangements or EPA coordination