Altered Genes, Twisted Truth: How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science

[nationalize the fed]

181. From chapter 13: The Devolution of Scientists into Spin Doctors

Genetic Engineering’s Most Malignant Mutation

“The scientist . . . must conform to the facts. The sanction of truth is an exact boundary which encloses him.” Jacob Bronowski, Science and Human Values

As the previous chapters have documented, the scientist-proponents of genetic engineering have not merely failed to adhere to the facts as assiduously as scientists are supposed to, in several respects, they haven’t even maintained higher standards of truthfulness than people engaged in politics. And we’ve seen that as science became more politicized in regard to genetic engineering, and as its scientist-promoters strove to augment their influence over the political process, the media, and public opinion, they increasingly adopted the techniques of spin specialists advancing political campaigns.

The transformation of doctors of science into spin doctors began at least as early as 1977, when GE proponents mounted a major effort to quell the growing concerns about the risks of genetic engineering. As we saw in Chapter 1, the historian Susan Wright, in chronicling this endeavor, documented several examples of the proponents’ propensity to spin the facts in a misrepresentative manner. This tendency toward spin has also been noted by Diana B. Dutton, a Senior Research Associate of the Stanford School of Medicine, who observed that as the proponents strained to project a positive image of their technology, “[e]ven accumulating evidence that there were, indeed, risks was interpreted in a positive light.”...snip
From the FDA Files- obtained via Lawsuit