Glyphosate at a turning point: the 1997 monograph led by John Franz
In 1997 the American Chemical Society published a 653-page book on a single herbicide, glyphosate, led by John Franz, the Monsanto chemist who found its herbicidal activity in 1970. It covers the molecule’s chemistry, its target enzyme EPSP synthase and its use in the field.
What the study did and found
This is a book rather than a study: “Glyphosate: A Unique Global Herbicide”, published in 1997 by the American Chemical Society as ACS Monograph 189. Its lead author, John Franz, joined Monsanto in 1955 and found glyphosate’s herbicidal activity in 1970; his co-authors were Michael Mao and James Sikorski (Franz et al., 1997).
According to the publisher, the book reviews the herbicide’s history, chemistry and biology, formulation and the enzymology behind it, including its action on the target enzyme, EPSP synthase (Franz et al., 1997).
Why it is cited
The book is widely cited, with 714 citing works in OpenAlex by September 2026. It gathered the chemistry, biochemistry and field use of one herbicide in a single volume, led by the scientist who found that the molecule kills plants.
It also appeared at a turning point: glyphosate-tolerant crops arrived in 1996 and the original US patent protection ended in 2000 (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2017).
The book’s lead author came from the industry, and the publisher’s praise of glyphosate’s soil inactivity and low toxicity is a favourable framing rather than an independent assessment (Franz et al., 1997).
The enzyme at its centre is still the one identified in 1980 (Steinrücken & Amrhein, 1980). By September 2026, 62 weed species were resistant to this mode of action (International Herbicide-Resistant Weed Database, 2026), and IARC classed glyphosate as probably carcinogenic in 2015, while the US EPA and the EU’s chemicals risk committee did not.
The topic today
The EU renewed glyphosate’s approval to 15 December 2033, with a ban on pre-harvest desiccation (European Commission, 2023). In June 2026 the US Supreme Court ruled that federal law preempts a state claim demanding a cancer warning on Roundup’s label.
For the current picture, see our explainer Glyphosate’s Rise to Top Weedkiller: A 1997 Account.