Title: Confronting Pseudoscience and Threats from a Corporate Front Group: The American Council on Science and Health
1Confronting Pseudoscience and Threats from a
Corporate Front GroupThe American Council on
Science and Health
2Disclosure
- Previous regular column for Medscape
- Small payment per article
- While much of Medscapes content is supported by
the pharmaceutical industry, my columns have been
free of industry support - No other funding sources or conflicts of interest
3Outline
- Background Global Warming
- Definition of Corporate Front Group
- American Council on Science and Health (ACSH)
history, staff, and funding - ACSH Pseudoscience and Misinformation
4Outline
- ACSH Attacks on Scientists and the Scientific
Enterprise - Implications for Science and Public Health
- Other examples of obfuscation of science by
corporate interests - Conclusions
5Outline
- Corporate Front Groups
- American Council on Science and Health
- Corporate PR Tactics
- Conclusions
6Corporate Front Groups
- Promote corporate agendas
- Strong financial and advisory links with
corporations - Disseminate misinformation/lies under guise of
science - Non-peer reviewed, cherry-picked/out of context
- Promote pro-business, conservative ideology
7Background
- Essay describing health and environmental
consequences of global warming for Medscape - Described ACSH as a corporate front group and
criticized its selection of author Michael
Crichton as recipient of its 2005 Sound Science
Medal - Crichtons State of Fear questions existence of
human-caused global warming - Crichton also received the American Association
of Petroleum Geologists journalism award
8ACSH and Global Warming
- Leader referred to belief that burning fossil
fuels has caused global warming as pseudoscience - Criticized environmental scientists as
doomsayers and fearmongers
9ACSH Response
- Threatened litigation against Medscape
- Article pulled, then republished with additional
material - ?Loss of potential readership?
10ACSHDr Elizabeth Whelan former president (d.
2014)
- Founded in 1978 by Drs. Elizabeth Whelan and
Frederick Stare - Whelans early writing career included
- Freelance writing assignment for Pfizer
criticizing the FDA - Consumer magazine pieces for Harpers Bazaar
and Glamour (fashion magazines) - Books Panic in the Pantry and Toxic Terror
- Whelans 2003 salary 326,612
11ACSHDr Gilbert Ross - Medical /Executive
Director
- In charge of all scientific projects,
publications, and personnel issues involving
scientific staff at ACHS - Spent 1996 in federal prison after being
sentenced to 46 months for - Medicaid fraud
- Perjury
- Obstruction of justice
- Not mentioned on his bio on ACSH website
- Barred by the DHHS for 10 years from
participating in either Medicare or Medicaid
12ACSHDr Gilbert Ross Career
- Defended Wood Preservative Science Council
against health claims regarding arsenic in
pressure-treated wood - Wrote on behalf of the farmed salmon industry
that PCBs in fish do not cause any health problems
13ACSH
- ACSH Board of Directors includes anti-regulatory
Individuals - Prominent figures on board of advisors
- George Lundberg (Editor, Medscape), William Foege
(former head of CDC), Patricia Buffler (former
dean of UC Berkeley School of Public Health),
others
14ACSH
- Annual turnover of under 2 million
- Initial funding from right wing foundations,
corporations - E.g., Sarah Scaife Foundation, Dow, Monsanto,
American Cyanamid, Mobil Foundation, Chevron,
Bethlehem Steel, etc. - Accepted money to write and disseminate
pro-industry studies
15ACSH
- Finances had been secret since early 1990s until
internal documents obtained by Mother Jones for
second half of 2012 show - 58 of donations from corporations and large
private foundations
16ACSH
- Funders have included Bayer CropScience,
Syngenta, Procter and Gamble, National
Petrochemical and Refiners Assn, McDonalds,
Altria, Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, General
Mills, Nestle USA, National Soft Drink
Association, others
17ACSHSound Science
- Has spoken out re dangers of tobacco smoking
- Supported IOM recommendation re coverage of
contraception as a preventive health service - Criticized Oprah for pseudoscientific claims
(The Secret, anti-vaccination promulgations,
nutritional supplement promotions, etc.)
18ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Attacked the precautionary principle
- anti-science and anti-technology phobia
- fundamentally reactionary and elitist
- more on the order of theology than science
19ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Minimized the effects of environmental tobacco
smoke (ETS) on human health - 40,000 deaths/yr in U.S.
- Opposed FDA regulation of e-cigarettes
20ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Promoted smokeless tobacco, snus, and
e-cigarettes as smoking cessation aids - Opposed graphic tobacco package warnings
21ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Denied many of the adverse neurological effects
of lead exposure - Denied endocrine-disrupting effects of PCBs
- Claimed court ordered-cleanup of Hudson River by
GE based on false claims of PCBs causing cancer
22ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Minimized health concerns of 9-11 responders
- Opposed EPA attempts to strengthen clean air
standards - Opposed TSCA reforms
- Denied health risks of certain cosmetics
- See Environmental Working Groups Skin Deep
list of safe cosmetics
23ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Claimed uncertainty regarding effects of
agricultural antibiotics - Denied health and environmental risks of GM crops
- Called warnings regarding tuna consumption by
pregnant women unfounded health scare - Turned Alar concerns into manufactured
cautionary tale of overzealous regulators run
amok
24ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Critiqued health concerns re trans fatty acids
- There is no such thing as junk food
- There is insufficient evidence of a relationship
between diet and any disease. - Rejected AAP recommendation for fast food
television advertising ban - Opposed ban on sales of energy drinks to minors
25ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Claimed irradiated food is safe, wholesome and
nutritious and no radioactive isotopes are
involved - Promotes fracking
- Whelan Fracking doesnt pollute air or water
- 1992 memo by Whelan ACSH is the great defender
of petrochemical companies - Promoted nuclear power and benefits of low dose
radiation hormesis
26ACSHPseudoscience and Misinformation
- Denied link between dioxins and pesticides and
adverse health effects - Pesticides are not toxic to humans of any age
- Supported use of human volunteers in pesticide
toxicity studies - Denied health consequences of PBDEs (fire
retardents) and PFOA (Teflon)
27Pesticides
- EPA U.S. farm workers suffer up to 300,000
pesticide-related acute illnesses and injuries
per year - NAS Pesticides in food could cause up to 1
million cancers in the current generation of
Americans - WHO 1,000,000 people killed by pesticides over
the last 6 years
28Phony Health Scares
- Mercury in tuna and other fish
- Enjoy it without worry
- Flame retardant traces found in blood and breast
milk - PCBs in the Hudson River
- Diesel exhaust fumes from school busses
- Arsenic in drinking water
- Phthalates in medical devices and childrens toys
29ACSH Attacks on Scientists and the Scientific
Enterprise
- ad hominem attacks
- environmentalists toxic terrorists
- Whelan criticized Dr. Barry Levy and
citizen-activist Erin Brockovich as individuals
whopursued self-serving financial opportunities
through litigation - Called HSPH a hotbed of pseudoscience and
political agitation
30ACSH Attacks on Scientists and the Scientific
Enterprise
- Threat of litigation against Medscape
antithetical to the rules of science - require the free exchange of information and
opinion in pursuit of the truth
31Barry Levy
- Expert in asbestos-related litigation
- Past president of APHA and winner of Sedgwick
Medal - Career has included work with CDC and USAID and
the presidency of International Physicians for
the Prevention of Nuclear War
32Erin Brokovich
- Received Harvard School of Public Healths
highest honor, the Julius Richmond Award - Exposed Pacific Gas and Electrics (PG and Es)
pollution of California groundwater with
chromium-6 (linked to stomach cancer)
33ACSH Attacks on Scientists and the Scientific
Enterprise
- Charles Duhigg - NY Times writer
- Winner of 2010 NY branch of the Society for
Professional Journalists Daniel Pearl Award for
series, Toxic Waters - Accused of echoing the campaign of radical
environmental groups seeking to scare people
about the safe use of pesticides and of
allowing himself to be used as a pawn in a
campaign againstatrazine
34Implications of Attacks on Science and Scientists
- ACSH has broad media presence
- Web site attracts large numbers of individuals
- 100,000 hits per month for 2005
- Dr. Whelan has been featured on NBCs Today Show,
CNN Live, BBC, and CNBCs Business Insiders - Editorials by Whelan and Ross have appeared in
the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, USA
Today, NY Post, Forbes, National Review,
Washington Times, Weekly Standard, Medscape, and
other publications
35Implications of Attacks on Science and Scientists
- Mislead public / may cause alterations in
lifestyle and/or purchasing habits - adverse consequences to health
- Threats of litigation and SLAPP suits distract,
intimidate, and deplete the scientific, legal,
and financial resources of individuals and groups
committed to public health
36Implications of Attacks on Science and Scientists
- Faulty pronouncements influence elected officials
- Threats of litigation divert the valuable time of
health care providers, editors, and legal
departments away from their more productive
missions of research, teaching, writing, and
patient care
37Implications of Attacks on Science and Scientists
- Scientists and health care advocates may decide
it is wiser to avoid conflict than publish
content to which ACSH and other such groups might
object
38Educational Deficits Impede Publics
Understanding of Science
- 25 of Americans functionally illiterate
- Inadequate funding of science and health
education means individuals may lack background
necessary to recognize sound science vs.
ideological bunk - Corporate-sponsored educational materials
replacing scientific syllabi
39Would You Sign a Petition to Ban Dihydrogen
Monoxide?
- 1. It can cause excessive sweating and
vomiting2. It is a major component in acid
rain3. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous
state4. It can kill you if accidentally
inhaled5. It contributes to erosion6. It
decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes7.
It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer
patients
40Geographic Ignorance
- Percent of US teens unable to locate the
following on a map - United States 11
- Pacific Ocean 29
- Japan 58
- United Kingdom 68
41Pseudoscientific Beliefs
- Percentage of Americans who believe at least to
some degree in these phenomena - 1976 1997
- Astrology 17 37
- UFOs 24 30
- Reincarnation 9 25
- Fortune-Telling 4 14
42Ignorance/Pseudoscientific Beliefs
- Half of US citizens do not believe in evolution
and do believe that humans and dinosaurs
coexisted (2007) - 40 think scientists still generally disagree
about evolution - 20 of high school biology teachers are
creationists
43Pseudoscientific Beliefs
- 37 believe places can be haunted (2007)
- 25 believe in UFOs (2007)
- 24 believe in astrology (2009)
- 16 believe that people with the evil eye can
cast curses or harmful spells - 14 have consulted a psychic or fortune teller
(2009)
44Ignorance/Pseudoscientific Beliefs
- 22 of Americans dont know whether an atomic
bomb has ever been dropped (2000) - 25 of Americans dont know the earth revolves
around the sun (2014) - 18 believe in Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster
(2007) - 8 of men / 18 of women believe in astrology and
fortune tellers (2007)
45(No Transcript)
46Corporate PR Tactics
- Greenwash Public relations/ad campaigns
- Chevrons People Do Campaign,
butterflies/refinery - British Petroleum (BP) invests 100 million
annually in clean energy amt. it spends
annually to market its new name and
environmentally-friendly image of moving Beyond
Petroleum
47Corporate PR Tactics
- Astroturf artificially-created grassroots
coalitions - Other corporate front groups
- The Alliance for Responsible CFC Policy
- National Wilderness Institute
- The Foundation for Clean Air Progress
48Corporate PR Tactics
- Invoke poor people as beneficiaries
- Characterize opposition as technophobic,
anti-science, anti-business, and against
progress - Portray their products as environmentally
beneficial in the absence of (or despite the)
evidence
49Sponsored Environmental Educational Materials
- Corporate-sponsored and supported by a loose
coalition of antiregulatory zealots, corporate
polluters, lapdog scientists and misguided parents
50Sponsored Environmental Educational Materials -
Examples
- Exxons Energy Cube
- -Gasoline is simply solar power hidden in
decayed matter - -Offshore drilling creates reefs for fish
- Pacific Lumber Company
- -The Great American Forest is. . . renewable
forever
51Sponsored Environmental Educational Materials -
Examples
- American Nuclear Societys Activities with the
Atoms Family - Dows Chemipalooza
52Environment of Anti-Science/Pseudoscience
- Erosion of science under the Bush administration
- Appointments to key scientific bodies based on
corporate connections and political or religious
ideology, rather than scientific expertise - Excessive corporate influence over legislation
- The rewriting and even suppression of scientific
policy statements - A little improvement under Obama
53Recommendations
- Professional and lay publications should expose
the workings of groups like ACSH - Scientists should fight back against harassment
- Improve quality of public education get
corporations out of the classroom
54Contact Info
-
- Martin T Donohoehttp//www.publichealthandsocialj
ustice.orghttp//www.phsj.orgmartindonohoe_at_phsj.
org