Monsanto’s former Director of Corporate Communications Jay Byrne, president of the public relations firm v-Fluence, is a key player in the covert propaganda and lobbying campaigns of the world’s largest agrichemical companies. Emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know, posted in the UCSF Chemical Industry Documents Archive, reveal a range of deceptive tactics Byrne and … Jay Byrne: Meet the Man Behind the Monsanto PR Machine
This article first appeared in Huffington Post. By Stacy Malkan At a recent soiree at Union Station, the DC power elite gathered in an anti-public health confab dressed up as a celebration of women that should concern anyone who cares about the health and rights of women and children. The Independent Women’s Forum drew an … The Rise of Anti-Women, Anti-Public Health Groups
AgBioChatter is a private email listserver used by the agrichemical industry and its allies to coordinate messaging and lobbying activities. List members include pro-industry academics, senior agrichemical industry staff and public relations operatives. This internal Monsanto document identifies “Academics (AgBioChatter)” as a Tier 2 “industry partner” in Monsanto’s public relations plan to discredit the World … AgBioChatter: Where Corporations, Academics Plotted Strategy on GMOs, Pesticides
Founded, led UC Davis group that elevated industry PR efforts Dr. Ronald was the founding director of the World Food Center’s Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL), a group launched in 2014 at UC Davis to train faculty and students to promote genetically engineered foods, crops and pesticides. The group does not fully disclose … Pamela Ronald’s Ties to Chemical Industry Front Groups
Tens of thousands of pages of internal documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know via public records requests reveal the close – and often secret – ties between Monsanto, its PR groups, and a group of professors who promote GMOs and pesticides. In one example, the investigation turned up details about Monsanto’s work with Peter … Corporate influence at the University of Saskatchewan: Professor Peter Phillips and his secret “right to know symposium”
Blogging under the name SciBabe, Yvette d’Entremont defends toxic chemicals in food products and promotes pesticides as safe. She has received funding and honoraria from a variety of companies and industry groups. In 2017, the artificial sweetener company SPLENDA hired SciBabe to “debunk junk science” in defense of their product.SciBabe has been a featured speaker … SciBabe says eat your pesticides. But who is paying her?
Tamar Haspel is a freelance journalist who has been writing monthly food columns for the Washington Post since October 2013. Her columns frequently promote and defend pesticide industry products, while she also receives payments to speak at industry-aligned events, and sometimes from industry groups. This practice of journalists receiving payments from industry groups, known as … How Tamar Haspel Misleads Readers of the Washington Post
Also see: Buckraking on the Food Beat: When is it a conflict of interest? Washington Post Food Columnist Goes to Bat for Monsanto On September 23rd, Washington Post food columnist Tamar Haspel admitted to receiving “plenty” of money from pro-agrichemical industry sources. Following her admission, I thought it might be useful to report on journalists … A Short Report on Journalists Mentioned in our FOIA Requests
