Henry Miller Archives

Jay Byrne: Meet the man behind USAID-funded attacks on pesticide critics

Stacy Malkan | February 3, 2025

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 USAID-funded attacks on pesticide critics

Keith Kloor: How a science journalist worked behind the scenes with industry allies

Stacy Malkan | November 1, 2018

Keith Kloor is a freelance journalist and an adjunct journalism faculty member at New York University who has written for Nature, Science Insider, Slateand dozens of articles for Discover Magazinepromoting genetically engineered foods and attacking critics of the pesticide industry, while also assisting industry public relations efforts behind the scenes. Emails obtained by U.S. Right … Keith Kloor: How a science journalist worked behind the scenes with industry allies

Newsweek Gets Ad Money from Bayer, Prints Op-Eds That Help Bayer

Stacy Malkan | March 28, 2019

Newsweek failed to disclose the chemical industry connections of two opinion writers who argued today in an op-ed that glyphosate can’t be regulated. The commentary by Henry I. Miller and Stuart Smyth, both of whom have ties to Monsanto that were not disclosed in the piece, appeared soon after a federal jury handed cancer victim … Newsweek Gets Ad Money from Bayer, Prints Op-Eds That Help Bayer

Julie Kelly cooks up propaganda for the pesticide industry

Stacy Malkan | February 13, 2017

Julie Kelly is a food writer and cooking instructor who emerged in 2015 as a fierce advocate for the agrichemical industry, with articles defending pesticides, arguing against GMO labeling and attacking the organic food industry. Her work has appeared in the National Review, The Hill, Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. An award-winning … Julie Kelly cooks up propaganda for the pesticide industry

Climate Science Denial Network Funds Toxic Chemical Propaganda

Stacy Malkan | March 2, 2017

They promote GMOs and pesticides, defend toxic chemicals and junk food, and attack people who raise concerns about those products as “anti-science.” Yet Jon Entine, Trevor Butterworth and Henry Miller are funded by the same groups that finance climate-science denial. By Stacy Malkan British writer George Monbiot has a warning for those of us trying … Climate Science Denial Network Funds Toxic Chemical Propaganda

Why Forbes deleted Kavin Senapathy’s articles

Stacy Malkan | August 31, 2017

Kavin Senapathy emerged as a writer in 2015 with articles promoting GMOs, defending pesticides and attacking critics of the agrichemical industry, many of them published in Forbes. She does not disclose her funding sources. In 2017, Forbes deleted seven articles Senapathy co-authored with Henry I. Miller, a former Hoover Institution fellow, following revelations in the … Why Forbes deleted Kavin Senapathy’s articles

Val Giddings: Top Operative for the Agrichemical Industry

Stacy Malkan | November 9, 2018

Val Giddings, PhD, is a key player in agrichemical industry efforts to oppose transparency and safety regulations for genetically engineered foods and pesticides. Emails obtained by U.S. Right to Know and posted in the UCSF Chemical Industry Documents Library indicate that Dr. Giddings helped set up a corporate front group and played a key behind-the-scenes … Val Giddings: Top Operative for the Agrichemical Industry

Tracking the pesticide industry propaganda network

Stacy Malkan | March 5, 2023

Our series of fact sheets shines light on the pesticide industry’s hidden propaganda network: the front groups, academics, journalists and others the pesticide companies rely on for their PR and product-defense campaigns.

Secret Documents Expose Monsanto’s War on Cancer Scientists

Stacy Malkan | October 1, 2018

By Stacy Malkan (updated May 17, 2019) DeWayne Johnson, a 46-year-old father dying of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, was the first person to face Monsanto in trial in 2018 over allegations the company hid evidence about the cancer-causing dangers of its Roundup weedkiller. Juries have since returned with three unanimous verdicts finding that glyphosate-based Roundup herbicides were … Secret Documents Expose Monsanto’s War on Cancer Scientists

Monsanto fingerprints found all over attack on organic food

Stacy Malkan | July 1, 2016

By Stacy Malkan When a reputable-sounding nonprofit organization released a report attacking the organic food industry in April 2014, the group went to great lengths to tout its independence. The 30-page report by Academics Review, described as “a non-profit led by independent academic experts in agriculture and food sciences,” found that consumers were being duped into spending more … Monsanto fingerprints found all over attack on organic food

Academics Review: The making of a Monsanto front group to attack the organic industry

Stacy Malkan | May 31, 2018

Academics Review, a nonprofit organization launched in 2012, claimed to be an independent group, but documents obtained by U.S. Right to Know revealed it was a front group, set up with the help of Monsanto executives and public relations operatives, to attack the organic industry and critics of GMOs — while appearing to be independent. … Academics Review: The making of a Monsanto front group to attack the organic industry

Drew Kershen: agrichemical industry front group ringleader

Stacy Malkan | May 1, 2018

Drew Kershen, professor emeritus at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, is a close ally of the agrichemical industry. He argues for deregulation of genetically engineered plants and animals and against transparency. Kershen has played a key role in agrichemical industry-funded promotional efforts and front groups that lobby for industry interests. Kershen does not … Drew Kershen: agrichemical industry front group ringleader

Monsanto relied on these ‘partners’ to attack top cancer scientists

Stacy Malkan | March 31, 2019

In a confidential public relations plan dated February 2015, Monsanto laid out is plans to discredit the World Health Organization’s cancer research unit, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). A month later, the international group of experts judged glyphosate — the key ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer — to be probably carcinogenic … Monsanto relied on these ‘partners’ to attack top cancer scientists

AgBioChatter: Where Corporations, Academics Plotted Strategy on GMOs, Pesticides

Stacy Malkan | May 31, 2018

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

How Monsanto Manufactured ‘Outrage’ at IARC over Cancer Classification

Stacy Malkan | September 19, 2017

By Carey Gillam Three years ago this month Monsanto executives realized they had a big problem on their hands. It was September 2014 and the company’s top-selling chemical, the weed killer called glyphosate that is the foundation for Monsanto’s branded Roundup products, had been selected as one among a handful of pesticides to undergo scrutiny … How Monsanto Manufactured ‘Outrage’ at IARC over Cancer Classification

Open Letter to STAT: It’s Time for Stronger Transparency Standards

Stacy Malkan | February 28, 2018

Dear Rick Berke and Gideon Gil, At a time when the public is questioning the legitimacy of news media – and science itself – it is important for health and science publications such as STAT to serve the public with as much truth and transparency as possible. We write to ask you to step forward … Open Letter to STAT: It’s Time for Stronger Transparency Standards

A Short Report on Journalists Mentioned in our FOIA Requests

Gary Ruskin | September 28, 2015

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

Monsanto Exec Reveals $17 Million Budget For Anti-IARC, Pro-Glyphosate Efforts

Carey Gillam | March 27, 2019

How badly did Monsanto want to discredit international cancer scientists who found the company’s glyphosate herbicide to be a probable human carcinogen and promote a counter message of glyphosate safety instead? Badly enough to allocate about $17 million for the mission, in just one year alone, according to evidence obtained by lawyers representing cancer victims … Monsanto Exec Reveals $17 Million Budget For Anti-IARC, Pro-Glyphosate Efforts

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