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/
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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