Jon Entine 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

Our Investigation of Big Food and its Front Groups

Gary Ruskin | September 5, 2015

Update: This blog has been updated to include a running list of news stories and commentary generated by our ongoing investigation. U.S. Right to Know is conducting an investigation into the collusion between Big Food, its front groups, and university faculty and staff to deliver industry PR to the public.That investigation is ongoing. Thus far, … Our Investigation of Big Food and its Front Groups

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 is Cornell University Hosting a GMO Propaganda Campaign?

Stacy Malkan | January 22, 2016

This article by Stacy Malkan original appeared in The Ecologist The founders of Cornell University, Andrew D. White and Ezra Cornell, dreamed of creating a great university that took a radical approach to learning. Their revolutionary spirit, and the promise to pursue knowledge for the greater good, is said to be at the heart of … Why is Cornell University Hosting a GMO Propaganda Campaign?

Genetic Literacy Project: PR front for Monsanto, Bayer and the chemical industry

Stacy Malkan | July 14, 2022

Genetic Literacy Project and its founder Jon Entine partner with corporations to promote and defend GMOs and pesticides. Bayer paid the Genetic Literacy Project $100,000 in fiscal year 2020-2021.

Food Evolution GMO film is ‘agribusiness propaganda’

Stacy Malkan | February 4, 2018

Food Evolution, a documentary produced by Scott Hamilton Kennedy and narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson, claims to look at all points of view in the debate over genetically modified foods (GMOs) debate. But the film quickly devolves into a hard sell for GMOs, based on specious claims and industry sources. See below for our June … Food Evolution GMO film is ‘agribusiness propaganda’

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

Geoffrey Kabat’s ties to tobacco and chemical industry groups

Stacy Malkan | March 7, 2019

Geoffrey Kabat, PhD, is a cancer epidemiologist and author of two books arguing that that health hazards of pesticides, electromagnetic fields, secondhand tobacco smoke and other environmental exposures are “greatly overblown.” He is often quoted in the press as an independent expert on cancer risk. Reporters who use Dr. Kabat as a source should be … Geoffrey Kabat’s ties to tobacco and chemical industry groups

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

American Council on Science and Health is a corporate front group

Gary Ruskin | January 19, 2023

The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) describes itself as a “pro-science consumer advocacy organization” and media outlets often quote the group as an independent science source; however, documents described in this fact sheet establish that ACSH is corporate front group that solicits money from tobacco, chemical, cosmetic, pharmaceutical companies and trade groups in … American Council on Science and Health is a corporate front group

Biofortified Aids Chemical Industry PR & Lobbying Efforts

Stacy Malkan | May 31, 2018

Biology Fortified Inc., known as “Biofortified,” is a nonprofit organization that works closely with the agrichemical industry and its collaborators on public relations and lobbying campaigns to defend genetically engineered foods and pesticides, and attack industry critics. Board members and bloggers are key agrichemical industry allies Current and former board members and blog authors listed … Biofortified Aids Chemical Industry PR & Lobbying Efforts

The misleading ways of Dr. Kevin Folta

Stacy Malkan | June 20, 2023

Kevin Folta, Ph.D., a professor in the Horticulture Sciences Department at University of Florida, has provided inaccurate information and engaged in misleading activities in his efforts to promote genetically engineered foods and pesticides. He is a senior contributing columnist to the Genetic Literacy Project, a chemical industry promotion group that receives funding from Bayer. He … The misleading ways of Dr. Kevin Folta

Mark Lynas’ inaccurate, deceptive promotions for GMOs and pesticides

Stacy Malkan | September 18, 2023

Mark Lynas is a former journalist turned public relations advocate for genetically engineered foods and pesticides. He makes inaccurate claims about those products from his perch at the Gates Foundation-funded Cornell Alliance for Science (which has dropped “Cornell” from its name). The Alliance for Science is a PR campaign that trains spokespeople and creates networks … Mark Lynas’ inaccurate, deceptive promotions for GMOs and pesticides

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

Pamela Ronald’s Ties to Chemical Industry Front Groups

Stacy Malkan | December 27, 2018

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

Journalists Failed to Disclose Sources’ Funding from Monsanto: A Short Report

Gary Ruskin | November 24, 2015

Following a Columbia Journalism Review article on whether science journalists should accept money from corporate interests, and whether there is adequate disclosure of sources’ corporate ties and conflicts of interest, U.S. Right to Know reviewed recent articles to assess how often journalists and columnists quote academic sources without stating that they are funded by the … Journalists Failed to Disclose Sources’ Funding from Monsanto: A Short Report

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

Following an Email Trail: How a Public University Professor Collaborated on a Corporate PR Campaign

Carey Gillam | January 29, 2016

By Carey Gillam Former University of Illinois food science professor Bruce Chassy is known for his academic gravitas. Now retired nearly four years, Chassy still writes and speaks often about food safety issues, identifying himself with the full weight of the decades of experience earned at the public university and as a researcher at the … Following an Email Trail: How a Public University Professor Collaborated on a Corporate PR Campaign

USA Today Fail: Trump Science Column by Corporate Front Group

Stacy Malkan | May 25, 2016

By Stacy Malkan USA Today fell to a new low in science and election coverage this week with a column speculating about presidential candidate Donald Trump’s science agenda, written by two members of a corporate front group that was not identified as a corporate front group. The column, “Would President Trump Be a Science Guy?”, … USA Today Fail: Trump Science Column by Corporate Front Group

Fearful Food Industry Jeopardizing Public’s Right to Information

Carey Gillam | January 5, 2016

I just don’t get it. Over the more than 20 years I have worked as a business journalist, I’ve always been motivated by a simple premise: Knowledge is power, and that power belongs with the public. The spread of information that people can use to make decisions – what to buy, what to eat, where … Fearful Food Industry Jeopardizing Public’s Right to Information

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