Iowa, the second-largest food producer in the nation, is mulling legislation that could provide relief to an embattled herbicide manufacturer by providing it with limited legal protections. Lining up to oppose the bill is an army of lobbyists working for environmental groups linked to China, a country that stands to gain if that farm supply manufacturer fails. Complicating the situation is a flood of contradictory scientific evidence concerning the safety of the herbicide in question.

The legislative battle revolves around Bayer AG, a German pharmaceutical corporation that, in June 2018, acquired Monsanto and its flagship product, Roundup, a herbicide made using the controversial chemical compound glyphosate. Fast-forward six years, and Bayer CEO Bill Anderson is telling the press that his corporation faces an “existential” crisis as it handles a deluge of lawsuits claiming that glyphosate, one of the most commonly used agricultural compounds in the world, causes cancer, a claim in which some courts have found merit but scientific evidence is mixed.