Government witch hunt to eliminate Monsanto
critics
Jon Rappoport blog
May 19 2015
(edited)
Government scientists who believe in exposing
the truth are being targeted.
Ten scientists at the USDA are on such a
target list, because their research findings would harm big-corporate
agriculture. (See Common Dreams, 5/5/15, "Suppressing Science for
Monsanto?")
PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), a non-profit
group, knows who these scientists are, but they aren't talking. Not
yet. They're trying to gain protection for the
researchers.
Here is a March 26 release from PEER, "USDA
Urged to Shield Its Scientists From Harassment":
"PEER has received reports concerning USDA scientists ordered to
retract studies, water down findings, remove their name from
authorship and endure long indefinite delays in approving publication
of papers that may be controversial. Moreover, [USDA] scientists who
are targeted by [big-Ag] industry complaints find themselves subjected
to disruptive investigations, disapprovals of formerly routine
requests, disciplinary actions over petty matters and intimidation
from [USDA] supervisors focused on pleasing 'stakeholders'."
The "stakeholders," of course, would include huge biotech
companies. Like Monsanto.
In a separate PEER petition to the USDA, we
find this:
"USDA scientists have been subjected to
Directives not to publish data on certain topics of particular
sensitivity to [big-Agriculture] industry;
"Orders to rewrite scientific articles
already accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal to remove
sections which could provoke [big-Ag] industry
objections;
"Summons to meet with [USDA] Secretary
Vilsack in an effort to induce retraction of a paper that drew the ire
of [big-Ag] industry representatives;
"Orders to retract a paper after it had been
accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The paper could
only be published if the USDA scientist removed his authorship thus
leaving only the names of authors unassociated with USDA;
"Demotion from supervisory status and a
reprimand after the scientist provided testimony before Congress that
did not reflect [USDA] agency preferences;
"Disruptive and lengthy internal
investigations to search out any irregularity that could be used for
management leverage against the targeted scientist;
"Suspensions without pay and other
disciplinary actions for petty matters, such as minor irregularities
in travel paperwork;
"Inordinate, sometimes indefinite, delays in
approving submission for publication of scientific papers that may be
controversial;
"Restrictions on topics that USDA scientists
may address in conference presentations;
"Threats by USDA managers to damage the
careers of [USDA] scientists whose work triggers [big-Ag] industry
complaints."
"USDA scientists working on topics with direct relevance to [big-Ag]
industry interests are under constant pressure not to do anything to
upset these important 'stakeholders.' Rather than shield staff
scientists from [big-Ag] industry influence, USDA managers amplify
it."
This is a witch hunt.
Claims that the USDA is serving the public
interest? A fairy tale.
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