Monsanto’s Sway Over Research Is Seen in Disclosed Emails

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/business/monsantos-sway-over-research-is-seen-in-disclosed-emails.html?module=WatchingPortal&region=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=1&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2017%2F08%2F01%2Fbusiness%2Fmonsantos-sway-over-research-is-seen-in-disclosed-emails.html

by alphonsegaston • 9 years ago

4 1 9 years ago

nytimes.com

arca_vorago• 9 years ago

They also enforce that sway with a massive internet PR arm as well, which does a good job burying stories like this. Personally, what I find more interesting than the particulars of this story itself, is the web of connections they use to accomplish these types of goals. For example, I really like the show "Uncommon Knowledge" from the Hoover Institute, but I have noticed a trend of their fellows being used like Mr. Miller allowed himself to be. If I remember correctly one of my favorite conspiracy theorist authors was a Hoover fellow, Antony Sutton, who was forced out after writing "National Suicide: Military Aid to the Soviet Union" which really ruffled some feathers, and it makes one think about how much think tanks are being used to promote agendas vs actually providing unbiased policy analysis.

On a related note, while I was a sysadmin in genetics, I came to understand just how weak and unreliable the scientific publishing community is. Peer-review != good science, but that's how the journals present themselves. Quite often I stumbled on obviously bad science, mostly by academics/scientists trying to pad their resumes. Usually with comments along the lines of "I've been published 1k+ times!". As if that had any bearing on the quality of their work. I think, in this case, instead of jumping on the anti-monsanto bandwagon (which having worked in the industry I'm still ready to do!), in this case the real solution is to fix scientific publishing, because things like this are happening in every single industry, not just bigag.

For example, I think a potential solution, besides making the journals completely free and open, would be to finance centers that test reproducibility, randomly or targeting specific examples such as the paper referenced.

Monsanto’s Sway Over Research Is Seen in Disclosed Emails

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