Obama administration at work.

And if we caucus for Hillary?  Where will that take us on these most important issues for Iowa?

Donna



> On Oct 28, 2015, at 11:35 PM, l <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Tom Vilsack at work.Tom [Mathews]
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]>
> To: CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Wed, Oct 28, 2015 2:47 pm
> Subject: Suspended USDA whistleblower article in the Washington Post
> 
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/10/28/suspended-usda-researcher-alleges-agency-tried-to-block-his-research-into-harmful-effects-of-pesticides-on-bees-butterflies/ <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/federal-eye/wp/2015/10/28/suspended-usda-researcher-alleges-agency-tried-to-block-his-research-into-harmful-effects-of-pesticides-on-bees-butterflies/>
> Suspended
> USDA researcher alleges agency tried to block his research 
> into harmful
> effects of pesticides on bees, butterflies
> By Steve Volk, October
> 28
> (edited)
> 
> Jonathan Lundgren, a prominent USDA entomologist, is alleging
> that he 
> was suspended after complaining that the agency was blocking his
> 
> research into the harmful effects of pesticides on pollinators, such as 
> bees
> and butterflies.
> 
> In a whistleblower complaint, Dr Lundgren his superiors
> began to “impede 
> or deter his research and resultant publications.”  Lundgren
> has also 
> previously alleged that the agency tried to prevent him from speaking
> 
> about his findings for political reasons and interfered with his ability 
> to
> review the research of other scientists.
> 
> The whistleblower complaint says
> Lundgren’s “work showed the adverse 
> effects of certain widely used pesticides,
> findings which have drawn 
> national attention as well as the ire of the
> agricultural industry.”
> 
> Lundgren has published work suggesting that soybean
> seeds pretreated 
> with neonicotinoid pesticide produce no yield benefit to
> farmers, who 
> pay extra for the seeds. He wrote a paper on the potential
> hazards of 
> “gene silencing” pesticides, which he said require further study to
> 
> determine if they would possibly harm other organisms. He also peer 
> reviewed
> a report published by the Center for Food Safety called “Heavy 
> Costs,” which
> was critical of neonicotinoid pesticides for providing 
> little to no benefit to
> farmers and adversely effecting bees.
> 
> Lundgren, a 2011 recipient of the
> Presidential Early Career Awards for 
> Scientists and Engineers, has given
> interviews on aspects of his 
> research, including a widely distributed
> interview with Minnesota Public 
> Radio, and spoke before the National Academy
> of Sciences.
> 
> A paper published in Environmental Science & Policy, with the
> sole 
> listed author Scott W. Fausti, includes the following footnote: “I would
> 
> like to acknowledge Dr. Jonathan G. Lundgren’s contribution to this
> 
> manuscript. Dr. Lundgren is an entomologist employed by the USDA
> 
> Agricultural Research Service (ARS). However, the ARS has required Dr.
> 
> Lundgren to remove his name as joint first author from this article. I
> 
> believe this action raises a serious question concerning policy 
> neutrality
> toward scientific inquiry.”
> 
> That paper suggests that the combination of
> federal mandates for corn 
> ethanol production and the advent of genetically
> modified corn crops 
> have produced a host of unintended adverse consequences,
> including 
> rising environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions,
> stronger 
> pest resistance, and inflated corn prices.
> 
> Jeff Ruch, PEER’s
> executive director, said Lundgren’s whistleblower 
> complaint adds to the debate
> about scientific freedom. He said USDA is 
> essentially saying, “‘You can do
> whatever science you want, as long as 
> it has no real-world applications. The
> rules allow for scientists to be 
> silenced based on the content of their
> science.”
> 
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