Post by gakaren on Oct 1, 2015 21:06:38 GMT -5
>:( It's kind of long, but also shows some of the ways they are getting their opinions published without disclosure!
A Harvard Kennedy School professor wrote a widely disseminated policy paper last year in support of genetically modified organisms at the behest of the seed giant Monsanto, without disclosing his connection, e-mails show.
Monsanto not only assigned professor Calestous Juma the topic. It went so far as to provide a summary of what the paper should say and a suggested headline. The company then connected the professor with a marketing company to pump it out over the Internet and attract media attention, according to the e-mails, obtained through a public records request.
Juma, an expert in international development, said he was not paid by Monsanto to extol the benefits of GMOs. He used material from his previously published book on the topic, he said, and did not perform new research for Monsanto nor change his views.
“It’s not that I was trying to hide anything,” Juma said Wednesday in an interview.
The episode offers a rare glimpse into efforts by both sides in the hotly debated issue to marshal support from academics, to whom the public looks for impartial analysis.
Monsanto not only assigned professor Calestous Juma the topic. It went so far as to provide a summary of what the paper should say and a suggested headline. The company then connected the professor with a marketing company to pump it out over the Internet and attract media attention, according to the e-mails, obtained through a public records request.
Juma, an expert in international development, said he was not paid by Monsanto to extol the benefits of GMOs. He used material from his previously published book on the topic, he said, and did not perform new research for Monsanto nor change his views.
“It’s not that I was trying to hide anything,” Juma said Wednesday in an interview.
The episode offers a rare glimpse into efforts by both sides in the hotly debated issue to marshal support from academics, to whom the public looks for impartial analysis.
