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<DIV><EM>Thanks to Kathy Christy for this posting</EM></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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style="BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px">
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<HR>
From: kc@globalcommunicators.com<BR>To: Ladadams@aol.com,
roger@langstudios.com, tom@vanarsdall.com<BR>CC:
charlotte@rphanes.com<BR>Sent: 5/15/2012 5:47:49 A.M. Pacific Daylight
Time<BR>Subj: Monsanto research grants.....<BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000
size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=navy size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Maybe worth
circulating this notice (circulated by Paul Growald’s and my chum
<st1:PersonName w:st="on">Charlotte Hanes</st1:PersonName>) about Monsanto’s
involvement with research grants to the NAPPC and pollinator contact lists
….<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=navy size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=navy size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Good luck/wishes on
all fronts, Kath<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=navy size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=navy size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">PS good piece about
bee health and seed coating harm to them, reported on NBC recently.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=navy size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: navy; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><FONT size=3
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<HR tabIndex=-1 align=center SIZE=2 width="100%">
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT
size=2 face=Tahoma><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
<st1:PersonName w:st="on">Charlotte Hanes</st1:PersonName>
[mailto:charlotte@rphanes.com] <BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Tuesday, May 15, 2012 8:02
AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B>
charlotte@rphanes.com<BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> It does not surprise me,
but......</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT size=3 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=3 face=Tahoma><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Thanks for your
comments on this......<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Charlotte</st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=3 face=Tahoma><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=tolocaltime><SPAN
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
data-tlt-epoch-time="1336999800"><FONT color=black size=1 face=Arial><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in">MONDAY,
MAY 14, 2012 08:50 AM EDT</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><FONT size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P></DIV>
<H1
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 39pt; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"><B><FONT
color=black size=7 face=Georgia><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 33pt"><A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.salon.com/2012/05/14/monsantos_college_strangehold/singleton/
href="http://www.salon.com/2012/05/14/monsantos_college_strangehold/singleton/"><FONT
color=black><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; COLOR: black; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">Monsanto’s
college strangehold</SPAN></FONT></A></SPAN></FONT></B><FONT size=7
face=Georgia><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia; FONT-SIZE: 33pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></H1>
<H2
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3.75pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in"><B><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Helvetica><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica; LETTER-SPACING: -0.75pt; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A
new report has shocking findings about the connection between corporate
funding and agricultural research<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></H2>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.5pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN class=byline><FONT
color=black size=1 face=Helvetica><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in"><SPAN
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; DISPLAY: inline-block; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">BY
<A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.salon.com/writer/jill_richardson/
href="http://www.salon.com/writer/jill_richardson/"><B><FONT color=black><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none">JILL
RICHARDSON</SPAN></FONT></B></A>, <A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.alternet.org/ href="http://www.alternet.org/"><B><FONT
color=black><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-DECORATION: none">ALTERNET</SPAN></FONT></B></A></SPAN></SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><FONT color=black size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><SPAN class=apple-style-span><FONT size=2
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.5pt; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 7.5pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: 7.5pt"
class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt">
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.5pt; TEXT-INDENT: -0.25in; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 3.75pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: top; MARGIN-RIGHT: 11.25pt; mso-margin-top-alt: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"
class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=2 face=Symbol><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Symbol; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt"><SPAN
style="mso-list: Ignore">·<FONT size=1 face="Times New Roman"><SPAN
style="FONT: 7pt 'Times New Roman'">
</SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=black size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.5pt" class=MsoNormal><FONT color=black size=2
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt"><SPAN
style="background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"><IMG
id=_x0000_i1025 title="Monsanto's college strangehold" border=0
src="http://media.salon.com/2012/05/alabama-immigration-law-farmers2-460x304.jpg"
width=460 height=304></SPAN></FONT><SPAN class=caption></SPAN><B><FONT
color=black size=1 face=Helvetica><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in"><SPAN
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">In
a Thursday, May 10, 2012 photo, a farm worker prepares a tomato field near
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Oneonta</st1:City>, <st1:State
w:st="on">Ala.</st1:State></st1:place> (AP Photo/Jay Reeves) <SPAN
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"></SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN><SPAN
class=photocredit><FONT color=black size=1 face=Helvetica><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; FONT-FAMILY: Helvetica; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in">(Credit:
AP)</SPAN></SPAN></FONT></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN class=apple-style-span><FONT
color=black size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt">
</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<DIV
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">
<DIV
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 11.25pt; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial">
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 13.5pt; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline"
class=MsoNormal><I><FONT color=#333333 size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-STYLE: italic; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 10.5pt">This
article originally appeared on <A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.alternet.org/ href="http://www.alternet.org/"><B><FONT
color=red><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; COLOR: red; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">AlterNet</SPAN></FONT></B></A>.</SPAN></FONT><FONT
color=#333333><SPAN
style="COLOR: #333333"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></P></DIV>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Here’s what happens
when corporations begin to control education.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.alternet.org/
href="http://www.alternet.org/"></A></SPAN></FONT><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75
coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t"
path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"><v:stroke
joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f
eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f
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gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"></v:path><o:lock v:ext="edit"
aspectratio="t"></o:lock></v:shapetype><v:shape
style="Z-INDEX: 1; POSITION: absolute; MARGIN-TOP: -619.5pt; WIDTH: 109.5pt; HEIGHT: 47.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: -7.5pt; mso-wrap-distance-left: 0; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-distance-right: 0; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-position-horizontal: absolute; mso-position-horizontal-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-position-vertical-relative: line"
id=_x0000_s1026 type="#_x0000_t75" alt="AlterNet"
href="http://www.alternet.org/" o:allowoverlap="f" o:button="t"><v:imagedata
src="http://images.salon.com/img/partners/ID_alternetInline.jpg"></v:imagedata><w:wrap
type="square"></w:wrap></v:shape><FONT color=black face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><A title=http://www.alternet.org/
href="http://www.alternet.org/"></A></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=black
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black">“When I approached
professors to discuss research projects addressing organic agriculture in
farmer’s markets, the first one told me that ‘no one cares about people
selling food in parking lots on the other side of the train tracks,’” said a
PhD student at a large land-grant university who did not wish to be
identified. “My academic adviser told me my best bet was to write a grant for
Monsanto or the Department of Homeland Security to fund my research on why
farmer’s markets were stocked with ‘black market vegetables’ that ‘are a
bioterrorism threat waiting to happen.’ It was communicated to me on more than
one occasion throughout my education that I should just study something
Monsanto would fund rather than ideas to which I was deeply committed. I ended
up studying what I wanted, but received no financial support, and paid for my
education out of pocket.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Unfortunately, she’s
not alone. Conducting research requires funding, and today’s research follows
the golden rule: The one with the gold makes the
rules.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">A report just
released by Food and Water Watch examines the role of corporate funding of
agricultural research at land grant universities, of which there are more than
100. “You hear again and again Congress and regulators clamoring for
science-based rules, policies, regulations,” says Food and Water Watch
researcher Tim<BR>Schwab, explaining why he began investigating corporate
influence in agricultural research. “So if the rules and regulations and
policies are based on science that is industry-biased, then the fallout goes
beyond academic articles. It really trickles down to farmer livelihoods and
consumer choice.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The report found
that nearly one quarter of research funding at land grant universities now
comes from corporations, compared to less than 15 percent from the USDA.
Although corporate funding of research surpassed USDA funding at these
universities in the mid-1990s, the gap is now larger than ever. What’s more, a
broader look at all corporate agricultural research, $7.4 billion in 2006,
dwarfs the mere $5.7 billion in all public funding of agricultural research
spent the same year.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Influence does not
end with research funding, however. In 2005, nearly one third of agricultural
scientists reported consulting for private industry. Corporations endow
professorships and donate money to universities in return for having
buildings, labs and wings named for them. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Purdue</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>’s Department of Nutrition
Science blatantly offers <A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/fn/outreach/corporate_affiliates/corp_affiliates.html
href="http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/fn/outreach/corporate_affiliates/corp_affiliates.html"><B><FONT
color=red><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; COLOR: red; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">corporate
affiliates</SPAN></FONT></B></A> “corporate visibility with students and
faculty” and “commitment by faculty and administration to address [corporate]
members’ needs,” in return for the $6,000 each corporate affiliate pays
annually.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">In perhaps the most
egregious cases, corporate boards and college leadership overlap. In 2009,
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">South Dakota</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>’s president, for
example, joined the board of directors of Monsanto, where he earns six figures
each year. <A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.farm-news.com/page/content.detail/id/502982/GUEST-COLUMN.html?nav=0
href="http://www.farm-news.com/page/content.detail/id/502982/GUEST-COLUMN.html?nav=0"><B><FONT
color=red><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; COLOR: red; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">Bruce
Rastetter</SPAN></FONT></B></A> is simultaneously the co-founder and managing
director of a company called AgriSol Energy and a member of the Iowa Board of
Regents. Under his influence, <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Iowa</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> joined AgriSol in a venture in
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Tanzania</st1:place></st1:country-region> that would have <A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://allafrica.com/stories/201202170856.html
href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201202170856.html"><B><FONT color=red><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; COLOR: red; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">forcefully
removed 162,000 people</SPAN></FONT></B></A> from their land, but the
university later pulled out of the project after public
outcry.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">What is the impact
of the flood of corporate cash? “We know from a number of meta-analyses, that
corporate funding leads to results that are favorable to the corporate
funder,” says Schwab. For example, one <A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040005
href="http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0040005"><B><FONT
color=red><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; COLOR: red; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">peer-reviewed
study</SPAN></FONT></B></A> found that corporate-funded nutrition research on
soft drinks, juice and milk were four to eight times more likely to reach
conclusions in line with the sponsors’ interests. And when a scrupulous
scientist publishes research that is unfavorable to the study’s funder, he or
she should be prepared to look for a new source of
funding.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">That’s what happened
to a team of researchers at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType> of <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Illinois</st1:PlaceName></st1:place> who were funded by a statewide
fertilizer “checkoff” after they published <A
style="OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial"
title=http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/5/52/Mulvaney_et_al_2007.pdf
href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/images/5/52/Mulvaney_et_al_2007.pdf"><B><FONT
color=red><SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: windowtext 1pt; BORDER-LEFT: windowtext 1pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; COLOR: red; BORDER-TOP: windowtext 1pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; BORDER-RIGHT: windowtext 1pt; TEXT-DECORATION: none; PADDING-TOP: 0in">a
finding</SPAN></FONT></B></A> that nitrogen fertilizer depletes organic matter
in the soil. Checkoffs are a common method used to market agricultural
products, and they are funded by a small amount from each sale of a product –
in this case, fertilizer. Richard Mulvaney, one of the U of I researchers,
feels it is twisted that, in this way, farmers fund research intended to
promote fertilizer use with their own fertilizer
purchases.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">But often the
industry influence may be more subtle. Joyce Lok, a graduate student at
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Iowa</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, said, “If a corporation
funds your research, they want you to look at certain research questions that
they want answered. So if that happens it’s not like you can explore other
things they don’t want you to look at… I think they direct the research in
that way.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">John Henry Wells,
who spent several decades as a student, professor and administrator at land
grant universities sees it a different way. As an academic, he hopes that his
research is relevant to real world problems that agriculture faces at the
time. “When you ask the question, did I ever outline a research plan with the
explicit notion of is this going to be fundable, I would say no. But I thought
very deeply about whether my research plan was going to be relevant, and one
of the indicators of relevancy would be if the ideas I put forward would get
the attention of trade associations, private industry, benefactors,
etc.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">If scientists use
fundability as an important criteria of selecting research topics, research
intended to serve the needs of the poor and the powerless will be at a
disadvantage. However, Wells says that this is hardly a new phenomenon: land
grants have existed to serve the elites since their creation in the 19th
century.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“As its basis, the
land-grant university was intended to cater to a narrow political interest of
landowners and homesteaders – individuals who had the right to vote and
participate in the political structure of a representative democracy.” he
says. “Contemporarily, it is not so much that the land-grant university has
been corrupted by modern agro-industrial influence, as it has been
historically successful in focusing on its mission in the context of our
Constitutional framework of governance. For the land-grant university, its
greatest strength – a political collaboration spanning the top-to-bottom
echelons of influence – has been its greatest
weakness.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Land grant
universities and the USDA itself first came into being at a time when the
academic view of agriculture was fundamentally changing – even if most farmers
at the time ignored the advice of academics, dismissing them as “book farmers”
who knew little about actually working the land. Will Allen writes about this
period in his book ”The War on Bugs,” telling the story of
</SPAN></FONT><B><FONT color=red face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: red; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Justus von
Liebig</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT color=black face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black">, a prominent agricultural chemist in
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><B><FONT
color=red size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: red; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">“In
the 1830s, Liebig began asserting that the most essential plant nutrients were
nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT color=black
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"> His theories fueled
the development of chemical fertilizers and ushered in a new age of
agricultural science and soil chemistry in the 1840s and 1850s. Though many of
Liebig’s theories were wrong, he was the first great propagandist for
chemistry and for chemical-industrial agriculture.” Perhaps
</SPAN></FONT><B><FONT color=#0035ff face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #0035ff; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">the most
significant of his mistakes was his belief that organic matter in the soil was
unimportant.</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT color=black face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><FONT color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Dozens of Americans
studied under Liebig and returned to the <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">U.S.</st1:place></st1:country-region> to
continue their work. Two of these students established labs at Harvard and
Yale, and soon “all agricultural schools and experiment stations in the
country followed their lead.” Thus,</SPAN></FONT></SPAN><B><FONT color=red
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: red; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">
</SPAN></FONT></B><SPAN class=apple-style-span><B><FONT color=black
face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND: yellow; COLOR: black; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">practically
from the start, the elites in this country served the interests of those who
peddled chemical fertilizers and other agricultural
inputs</SPAN></FONT></B></SPAN><B><FONT color=red face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: red; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> – even if that
wasn’t their intent. No doubt many were enticed by the prospect of founding a
new, modern, scientific form of agriculture, as they felt they were
doing.</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT color=black face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">The unholy trinity
of industry, government and academics promoting industrial agriculture and
de-emphasizing or dismissing sustainable methods has a long history and it
continues today. In its report, Food and Water Watch advocates a return to
robust federal funding of research at land grant universities. But government
is hardly immune from serving the corporate agenda
either.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Take, for example,
Roger Beachy, the former head of </SPAN></FONT><B><FONT color=red
face=Arial><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: red; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">the
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the agency in the USDA that
doles out research grants</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT color=black face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black">. Beachy spent much of his career as
an academic, collaborating with Monsanto to produce the world’s first
genetically engineered tomato. He later became the f</SPAN></FONT><B><FONT
color=#0035ff face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #0035ff; FONT-WEIGHT: bold">ounding
president of the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Donald</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Danforth</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Plant</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName
w:st="on">Science</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">Center</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>, Monsanto’s non-profit arm,
before President Obama appointed him to lead NIFA.</SPAN></FONT></B><FONT
color=black face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 15pt; OUTLINE-WIDTH: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 11.25pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0in; VERTICAL-ALIGN: baseline; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; mso-margin-top-alt: 11.25pt"><FONT
color=black size=3 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">As Schwab noted,
policy is often based on research, but good policy requires a basis in
unbiased, objective research. In a system in which corporations and government
both fund research, but due to the revolving door, the same people switch
between positions within industry, lobbying for industry, and within
government, what is the
solution?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" class=MsoNormal align=center><FONT color=black
size=2 face=Arial><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 10pt">
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