WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations' global public-health agency. AbilityForge cites it — and its cancer-research arm, IARC — most notably for the glyphosate carcinogenicity classification that stands in tension with the EPA.
What It Is
The WHO is the United Nations agency responsible for international public health. It sets global health standards, coordinates responses to disease, and houses specialized research bodies — among them the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the WHO arm that evaluates whether substances cause cancer in humans.
IARC's classifications are independent, peer-reviewed, and internationally respected — which is why they carry weight even when they cut against the conclusions of a national regulator.
The WHO and Glyphosate
In 2015, IARC classified glyphosate — the world's most-used herbicide — as "probably carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2A). That finding stands in direct tension with the U.S. EPA's conclusion that glyphosate is "not likely to be carcinogenic."
The contrast is the point. When an independent international cancer agency reaches one conclusion and a national regulator reaches the opposite, the question becomes whose science shaped each determination — and court records have alleged the EPA's review leaned on manufacturer-influenced "independent" assessments.
Why It Matters
The WHO matters to the environmental record because it provides an outside check on a captured domestic process. IARC has no product to sell and no domestic industry to placate, so when its finding diverges from the EPA's, that divergence is itself evidence worth examining.
The Same Playbook — Healthcare, Glyphosate, PFAS →Appears On
Sources: WHO/IARC Monograph on glyphosate (Group 2A classification, 2015); U.S. EPA glyphosate registration review. Classifications and regulatory determinations are subject to update.