Independent environmental health researchers work within an economic system that is often hostile to their findings. When their research reveals environmental or health hazards, it can lead to regulatory actions and the possibility of financial losses for industries. In some cases, these industries may attempt to discredit and silence scientists through tactics like funding counter-studies, launching PR campaigns, or engaging in legal battles.
These aggressive actions threaten both scientific integrity and public health. In May of last year, CHE hosted a webinar to highlight the growing concern of industry attacks on scientists and the need to protect both researchers and the integrity of their work.
Dr. Tyrone Hayes: Weathering attacks from Syngenta
The webinar was moderated by Dr. Tyrone Hayes, who has long been targeted by the agrochemical industry. The details of his experience are carefully documented in New Yorker mega-feature by Rachel Aviv entitled A Valuable Reputation.
In the early 2000’s Dr. Hayes' research revealed that Syngenta's herbicide atrazine severely disrupted reproductive hormones in frogs. As described in the webinar and the New Yorker piece, Dr. Hayes’ work was originally funded by Syngenta, but he faced coordinated attacks from the company once his findings threatened their profits. Syngenta used Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to reanalyze his data, petitioned journals to retract his work, filed ethics complaints to his university, and claimed he had mental health issues.
Documents show Syngenta planned to "set a trap" for Dr. Hayes, digging into his personal life and labeling him a "paranoid schizophrenic narcissist" to undermine his credibility.
Dr. David Carpenter: Protecting academic freedom
Dr. David Carpenter, a renowned environmental health scientist and neuroscientist, has extensively researched the health effects of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chemicals manufactured by Monsanto and banned in the U.S. in 1976 due to their toxicity. Since the 1980s, Monsanto (now owned by Bayer) has faced numerous lawsuits over its chemical products, including PCBs. Dr. Carpenter has served as an expert witness in some of these cases.
In the webinar, Dr. Carpenter discussed Monsanto-Bayer's efforts to discredit and intimidate him, highlighting the challenges scientists face when their work conflicts with powerful corporate interests.
"CHE Science Snippet" Webinar Preview
As described in the webinar, the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany, where Dr. Carpenter's lab is based, received Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests from the corporation. These requests targeted his research and the compensation he received for legal work, which he used to fund PhD students and research activities. Faced with scrutiny from the powerful company, the university placed Dr. Carpenter on an "alternative assignment," banning him from campus and initially prohibiting contact with his PhD advisees.
With the help of allies, Dr. Carpenter took his story to the press. The subsequent public exposure led to a rally of support from both academics and advocacy groups which pressured the university to reconsider its actions. Within a week's time of the press coverage, a letter to the central SUNY administration system criticizing the University at Albany’s unfair treatment of Dr. Carpenter was signed by over 2,000 allied academics and advocates from around the world. The SUNY administration demanded the University at Albany restore Dr. Carpenter to his original position.
Industry tactics: Product defense for glyphosate
The webinar also took a deeper dive into the tactics employed by Monsanto-Bayer to defend another of their products, glyphosate. Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides globally and the main ingredient in Roundup, a product that brings in billions in gross profits for Monsanto-Bayer annually.
In March 2015, an expert review panel working for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified glyphosate as Group 2A (“probably carcinogenic to humans”). Monsanto responded with orchestrated outrage and a robust and carefully planned attack on the agency.
Stacy Malkan, managing editor and co-founder of U.S Right to Know (USRTK), discussed Merchants of Poison, a detailed report in which she and coauthors provide a comprehensive analysis of Monsanto company documents obtained through litigation and other investigations. The report highlights how Monsanto manipulated scientific evidence and public opinion to protect glyphosate and associated profits.
Monsanto partnered with seemingly impartial “science” media organizations like the Genetic Literacy Project and the American Council on Science and Health to launch a full-scale “product defense” campaign. These groups, without disclosing their relationship with Monsanto, published numerous articles attacking IARC and its scientists, even urging lawmakers to defund the agency. They accused the panelists of misconduct, calling them "corrupt distortion fraud activist scientists."
These groups claim to be independent "debunkers of junk science," but documents obtained by USRTK reveal their direct ties to and funding from the industries they defend.
Intimidating researchers, undermining scientific integrity
This webinar highlighted the aggressive tactics certain corporations use to defend their products and undermine scientific research. The environmental health science community is increasingly aware of and affected by these issues and their impact on researchers and scientific integrity.
CHE is working with partners to shine light on instances of industry interference in science, and has ongoing projects aimed at discussing prevention and response strategies for these cases.
On July 23rd of this year, CHE collaborated with The New School at Commonweal to host a CHE Café conversation with Dr. Lisa Bero and Dr. Lariah Edwards to discuss their experiences of industry intimidation, and reflect on necessary steps to protect researchers and scientific integrity.
Stacy Malkan’s guest contributions on these issues to CHE’s blog can be found here – Atrazine: Latest science & policy analysis on a hormone-disrupting herbicide, Attacks on Scientists: Lessons from the Monsanto Papers.