{
  "id": 2493787,
  "title": "The Fight Over Spraying Roundup in California’s Forests Has Only Gotten Bigger",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/the-fight-over-spraying-roundup-in-californias-forests-has-only",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-22T03:56:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mother Jones",
    "slug": "mother-jones",
    "url": "https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/the-fight-over-spraying-roundup-in-californias-forests-has-only-gotten-bigger/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a yearlong investigation, Mother Jones revealed that record amounts of glyphosate, better known as Roundup, are being sprayed in California's forests. This revelation has ignited public debate and garnered national attention. In Lake Tahoe, community members have been actively protesting the US Forest Service's plans to use the controversial herbicide as part of a tree-planting initiative following wildfires. Congress members overseeing the Forest Service have also raised concerns, requesting more information about the practice.\n\nRecently, the investigation uncovered that Monsanto, the original developer of glyphosate and now owned by Bayer, had secretly commissioned a study that concluded glyphosate was safe. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) acknowledged Monsanto's role in ghostwriting the research, which the agency deemed as \"research misconduct,\" yet the EPA continued to cite the study as evidence supporting the herbicide's safety for public use.\n\nBayer, the company that manufactures Roundup, faces more than $12 billion in legal expenses and payouts from lawsuits filed by individuals who claim the herbicide caused their cancer. However, the Supreme Court recently ruled 7-2 that federal law prohibits individuals from suing the company under state labeling laws, which require companies to disclose potential risks like cancer. The court reasoned that only the EPA can mandate safety labels on pesticides, and the EPA maintains that Roundup is unlikely to cause cancer, based on its reliance on Monsanto's ghostwritten studies. Bayer, in turn, asserts that Roundup is safe when used correctly and that regulatory bodies worldwide have approved its usage.",
  "summary": "This video was created in partnership with PBS NewsHour. The record amounts of glyphosate being sprayed in California’s forests—revealed in a yearlong Mother Jones investigation in April—has continued to attract national attention and fuel public debate. In Lake Tahoe, community members have flooded meetings and organized rallies to stop the US Forest Service from spraying […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Mother Jones investigation reveals record glyphosate spraying in California forests.",
    "US Forest Service plans to use Roundup in Lake Tahoe tree-planting post-wildfires.",
    "Bayer, Roundup manufacturer, faces $12B in lawsuits over alleged cancer link."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The Supreme Court's ruling limiting lawsuits against Bayer under state labeling laws bolsters the company's defense of Roundup's safety, despite ongoing concerns and investigations into the herbicide's health risks.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}