John Krebs - Revision history

Olivia Rendall: /* Affiliations */

2015-03-30T14:49:45Z

Affiliations

Melissa Jones: /* Affiliations */

2012-06-16T12:09:58Z

Affiliations

Melissa Jones at 12:08, 16 June 2012

2012-06-16T12:08:25Z

Jonathan Matthews at 11:48, 3 May 2012

2012-05-03T11:48:06Z

Tom Griffin: Category:House of Lords

2010-05-26T23:43:03Z

Category:House of Lords

Claire Robinson at 21:29, 17 March 2009

2009-03-17T21:29:15Z

Claire Robinson at 17:57, 20 January 2009

2009-01-20T17:57:21Z

Claire Robinson at 16:56, 12 December 2008

2008-12-12T16:56:03Z

Claire Robinson at 16:55, 12 December 2008

2008-12-12T16:55:32Z

Claire Robinson at 16:53, 12 December 2008

2008-12-12T16:53:15Z

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 *House of Lords [[Science and Technology Committee]] - chair
 *[[Nuffield Foundation]] Trustee
 ==Notes==
 <references/>
 [[Category:Pro-GM Lobbyists|Krebs, John]][[Category:Corporate Science (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:Politicians and Regulators (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:GM|Krebs, John]][[Category:Industry-Friendly Experts|Krebs, John]][[Category:House of Lords|Krebs, John]]

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 ==Affiliations==
 *House of Lords [[Science and Technology Committee]] - chair
 ==Notes==
 <references/>
 [[Category:Pro-GM Lobbyists|Krebs, John]][[Category:Corporate Science (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:Politicians and Regulators (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:GM|Krebs, John]][[Category:Industry-Friendly Experts|Krebs, John]][[Category:House of Lords|Krebs, John]]

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 In a [http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,3604,965267,00.html letter to The Guardian] the Policy Director of the Soil Association,  [[Peter Melchett]], wrote, 'Sir John's anti-organic prejudice is matched by his love of GMOs. The FSA's own consumer committee has described the FSA's GM literature as "biased" in favour of GM, and the FSA has been caught out deliberately suppressing a verdict of its own "citizens' jury" opposing commercial growing of GM crops in the UK. Sir John says the FSA only represents consumers' interests - in which case it seems a little careless to have lost the confidence of both the Consumers' Association and the National Consumers' Council over his pro-GM campaigns.'
 ==Notes==
 <references/>
 [[Category:Pro-GM Lobbyists|Krebs, John]][[Category:Corporate Science (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:Politicians and Regulators (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:GM|Krebs, John]][[Category:Industry-Friendly Experts|Krebs, John]][[Category:House of Lords|Krebs, John]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:48, 3 May 2012
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−	Sir '''John Krebs''', the head of the UK's [[Food Standards Agency]] (FSA), is the son of Hans Krebs, the German biochemist who described the uptake and release of energy in cells (the Krebs cycle).	+	Sir '''John Krebs''', the former head of the UK's [[Food Standards Agency]] (FSA), is the son of Hans Krebs, the German biochemist who described the uptake and release of energy in cells (the Krebs cycle).

	Sir John is a leading Fellow of the [[Royal Society]] and since 1988 has held a Royal Society Research Professorship in the Department of Zoology, Oxford University. His speciality is bird behaviour.		Sir John is a leading Fellow of the [[Royal Society]] and since 1988 has held a Royal Society Research Professorship in the Department of Zoology, Oxford University. His speciality is bird behaviour.

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 ==Notes==
 <references/>
-[[Category:Pro-GM Lobbyists|Krebs, John]][[Category:Corporate Science (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:Politicians and Regulators (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:GM|Krebs, John]][[Category:Industry-Friendly Experts|Krebs, John]]
+[[Category:Pro-GM Lobbyists|Krebs, John]][[Category:Corporate Science (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:Politicians and Regulators (GM)|Krebs, John]][[Category:GM|Krebs, John]][[Category:Industry-Friendly Experts|Krebs, John]][[Category:House of Lords|Krebs, John]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Sir John Krebs, the head of the UK's  [[Food Standards Agency]] (FSA), is the son of Hans Krebs, the German biochemist who described the uptake and release of energy in cells (the Krebs cycle).
+Sir '''John Krebs''', the head of the UK's  [[Food Standards Agency]] (FSA), is the son of Hans Krebs, the German biochemist who described the uptake and release of energy in cells (the Krebs cycle).
-Sir John is a leading Fellow of the [[Royal Society]] and since 1988 has held a Royal Society Research Professorship in the Department of Zoology, Oxford University. His specialty is bird behaviour.
+Sir John is a leading Fellow of the [[Royal Society]] and since 1988 has held a Royal Society Research Professorship in the Department of Zoology, Oxford University. His speciality is bird behaviour.
 Between 1994 and 1999, Sir John was Chief Executive of the [[Natural Environment Research Council]]. He became the first Chairman of the UK [[Food Standards Agency]] in January 2000.

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 If the experiments had made Krebs controversial even prior to his appointment, things have got worse since. On the day it was announced that he was becoming the first head of the FSA,  Krebs publicly endorsed GM food in a radio interview, saying all GM products approved for sale in the UK 'were as safe as their non-GM counterparts'.
-But while Krebs was not prepared to reconsider the issue of approved GM foods, despite the high level of public concern, he quickly showed a willingness to tackle the issue of organic food which enjoyed a considerable degree of public confidence.  Appearing on BBC TV in August 2000, Krebs announced that consumers who were buying organic food were 'not getting value for money, in my opinion and in the opinion of the FSA, if they think they are buying extra nutritional quality or extra nutritional safety, because we don't have the evidence.'
+But while Krebs was not prepared to reconsider the issue of approved GM foods, despite the high level of public concern, he quickly showed a willingness to tackle the issue of organic food which enjoyed a considerable degree of public confidence. Appearing on BBC TV in August 2000, Krebs announced that consumers who were buying organic food were 'not getting value for money, in my opinion and in the opinion of the FSA, if they think they are buying extra nutritional quality or extra nutritional safety, because we don't have the evidence.'
 The Times reported his comments as dismissing organic food as 'an image-led fad' (The Times, September 2, 2000, 'Organic produce attacked by food agency'). A month later Dr Patrick Wall, the chief executive of the Irish counterpart agency, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, dismissed Kreb's views as extreme and reminded people to buy organic food because it was more 'environmentally friendly, more wholesome, and better produced'.
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 Shortly after joining the FSA, Krebs also aligned himself with the Oxford-based SIRC, [[Social Issues Research Centre]], which has set itself up as an arbiter of what is good and bad in the media's reporting of health and science stories. Krebs, the SIRC, the [[Royal Institution]], the [[Royal Society]] and others developed a set of 'Guidelines on Science and Health Communication'. Krebs' involvement was particularly controversial as the SIRC, as well as maintaining a pro-GM position, gets part of its funding from large food companies (eg Bestfoods, the giant ($8b) US food group later taken over by Unilever) as well as front organizations for the drinks and pharmaceutical industries. 'How seriously', asked the British Medical Journal of the SIRC's intiative, 'should journalists take an attack from an organization that is so closely linked to the drinks industry?'  SIRC is also supported by its 'sister organisation, MCM Research Ltd' which is a commercial venture catering for a similar range of corporate clients.
-When the science correspondent for Channel 4 News contacted Sir John to query the appropriacy of his involvement with an organisation with such links, Sir John denied any knowledge of the SIRC's links but refused to make any comment to camera. The SIRC's director stated that Sir John was aware of the organisation's funding background.
+When the science correspondent for Channel 4 News contacted Sir John to query the appropriateness of his involvement with an organisation with such links, Sir John denied any knowledge of the SIRC's links but refused to make any comment to camera. The SIRC's director stated that Sir John was aware of the organisation's funding background.
-Sir John  is also on the Science Advisory Panel of the [[Science Media Centre]] (SMC), an 'independent organisation', whose funders include BP Conoco, [[DuPont]], [[Tesco]], and [[Astra Zeneca]], amongst others. The scientists whose views are promoted by the SMC are almost invariably pro-GM. It has also been accused of 'orchestrating a secret campaign aimed at discrediting' a TV drama highlighting the dangers of GM.
+Sir John  is also on the Science Advisory Panel of the [[Science Media Centre]] (SMC), an 'independent organisation' whose funders include BP Conoco, [[DuPont]], [[Tesco]], and [[Astra Zeneca]], amongst others. The scientists whose views are promoted by the SMC are almost invariably pro-GM. It has also been accused of 'orchestrating a secret campaign aimed at discrediting' a TV drama highlighting the dangers of GM.
-During the UK's Public Debate on GM in 2003, Sir John's role again proved controversial. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/05/26/nbul26.xml 'Attack on food safety chief for GM crop "bias"] ' ran a headline in The Daily Telgraph, reporting that the chairman of the Food Standards Agency had been accused of 'manipulating the Government's public debate on genetically modified foods and failing to be objective in his role as independent scientific adviser on GM crops.'
+During the UK's Public Debate on GM in 2003, Sir John's role again proved controversial. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/05/26/nbul26.xml 'Attack on food safety chief for GM crop "bias"] ' ran a headline in the ''Daily Telegraph'', reporting that the chairman of the Food Standards Agency had been accused of 'manipulating the Government's public debate on genetically modified foods and failing to be objective in his role as independent scientific adviser on GM crops.'
 Nine organisations, including the National Federation of Women's Institutes and Unison, the UK's biggest trade union, had written to Sir John, accusing him of bias and of misrepresenting the views of the public. In the letter they said, 'There is a strong consensus amongst consumer and environment organisations that the published views and statements of the FSA and its Chair are indistinguishable from those of the pro-GM lobby and do not properly represent public health and consumer interests.'

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:53, 12 December 2008
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	In a [http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,3604,965267,00.html letter to The Guardian] the Policy Director of the Soil Association, [[Peter Melchett]], wrote, 'Sir John's anti-organic prejudice is matched by his love of GMOs. The FSA's own consumer committee has described the FSA's GM literature as "biased" in favour of GM, and the FSA has been caught out deliberately suppressing a verdict of its own "citizens' jury" opposing commercial growing of GM crops in the UK. Sir John says the FSA only represents consumers' interests - in which case it seems a little careless to have lost the confidence of both the Consumers' Association and the National Consumers' Council over his pro-GM campaigns.'		In a [http://www.guardian.co.uk/letters/story/0,3604,965267,00.html letter to The Guardian] the Policy Director of the Soil Association, [[Peter Melchett]], wrote, 'Sir John's anti-organic prejudice is matched by his love of GMOs. The FSA's own consumer committee has described the FSA's GM literature as "biased" in favour of GM, and the FSA has been caught out deliberately suppressing a verdict of its own "citizens' jury" opposing commercial growing of GM crops in the UK. Sir John says the FSA only represents consumers' interests - in which case it seems a little careless to have lost the confidence of both the Consumers' Association and the National Consumers' Council over his pro-GM campaigns.'
		+	==Notes==
		+	<references/>
		+	[[Category:Pro-GM Lobbyists\|Krebs, John]][[Category:Corporate Science (GM)\|Krebs, John]][[Category:Politicians and Regulators (GM)\|Krebs, John]]