Glyphosate Spraying in US Forests Sparks Health and Environmental Concerns
The use of glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, has sparked widespread concern across the United States as it is being sprayed over vast areas of national forests. This practice, which involves the application of a chemical linked to cancer, has raised alarms about potential health risks and environmental damage.
The US Forest Service (USFS) has been actively using glyphosate to clear out native shrubs, wildflowers, grasses, and plants that naturally regrow after wildfires. The goal of this spraying is to create space for commercially valuable conifer trees such as Douglas fir and sugar pine, which are used in construction, furniture, paper, and other products.
However, glyphosate has been heavily scrutinized for its alleged impact on human health. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified it as a “probable human carcinogen.” Public backlash against the practice has grown, with some individuals expressing strong opposition to the use of the chemical.
“Glyphosate is absolute s*** that needs to be removed from the market and never used ever again. Cancer-causing madness,” one person said. Another claimed, “Humans are evil to the core! They will destroy anything beautiful for a dollar!”
Government records show that glyphosate spraying has occurred in several states, including Maine, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, and various southern states tied to the timber industry. This practice has been ongoing for over 40 years. Recently, the White House plans to expand the chemical spraying, with an additional 10,000 acres in California’s Lassen National Forest, and the number reportedly growing to 75,000 acres in some fire zones.
“The US Forest Service is literally not taking care of the forests; they are literally destroying it,” a social media user wrote.
While the practice of spraying this alleged cancer-causing chemical has been taking place since the 1980s, the Trump Administration recently gave special protections to companies producing glyphosate and ramped up the government’s forest-clearing efforts. In February, President Donald Trump issued an executive order declaring glyphosate “critical to national security.”
The order uses the Defense Production Act to boost domestic production and gives manufacturers legal cover from certain liabilities. The USFS plan has been carrying out this spraying across California’s forests, specifically in areas devastated by local wildfires.
In 2023 alone, federal records revealed that over 266,000 pounds of glyphosate were dropped on California forests. The USFS sprays the key Roundup ingredient from helicopters flying low and releasing a fine mist of glyphosate over the local vegetation. The chemical kills almost any broad-leaf or competing plants it touches, but is designed to spare the conifer trees.
However, these native plants support insects, birds, small mammals, and endangered species such as Pacific salmon and rare foxes. This creates large “dead zones” with sharply declining biodiversity.
Moreover, scientists have also voiced concerns that the countless tons of weed killer being dropped across the US are now seeping into the surrounding environment and potentially increasing cancer risks for anyone exposed to glyphosate runoff.
The US Geological Survey released a report in 2020 warning that glyphosate had been detected in 66 of 70 streams and rivers near land that had been treated with the chemical. As of May 5, 2026, the US Environmental Protection Agency has maintained that “Glyphosate products used according to label directions do not result in risks to children or adults.”
The agency added that they disagreed with other health agencies, which have listed the Roundup ingredient as a likely carcinogen, claiming EPA officials found “no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer in humans.”
Despite those claims, Monsanto has reached legal settlements in approximately 100,000 Roundup lawsuits, paying roughly $11 billion in damages to plaintiffs who claimed they suffered severe health issues from being exposed to or using the weed killer.
Pennsylvania groundskeeper John McKivison, 49, won a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against Bayer after he had been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2020, which he and attorneys successfully argued was a result of using Roundup for two decades.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Monsanto v. Durnell in June or July 2026. The outcome will determine if federal law overrides state lawsuits that have accused Monsanto of failing to warn users about Roundup’s cancer risks, despite EPA regulations.
