Difference between revisions of "Steven Milloy"

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'''Steven Milloy''' is best known as the founder and publisher of the Junk Science website.<ref>"[http://www.junkscience.com/ JunkScience.com]", accessed 7 February 2009.</ref> He defines 'junk science' as "bad science used by lawsuit-happy trial lawyers, the 'food police,' environmental Chicken Littles, power-drunk regulators, and unethical-to-dishonest scientists to fuel specious lawsuits, wacky social and political agendas, and the quest for personal fame and fortune.."<ref>"[http://www.junkscience.com/faqs.html  Junk science FAQs]", JunkScience.com, accessed 7 February 2009.</ref> In reality it is a label that industry supporters use to attack any science that shows that industrial products and activities may be harmful to health or the environment. For example, the site has been named as a "leading debunker" of global warming by <i>Rolling Stone</i> magazine.<ref>"[http://www.junkscience.com/  Steven J. Milloy]", JunkScience.com, accessed 7 February 2009.</ref>
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'''Steven Milloy''' is best known as the founder and publisher of the Junk Science website.<ref>"[http://www.junkscience.com/ JunkScience.com]", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 7 February 2009.</ref> He defines 'junk science' as "bad science used by lawsuit-happy trial lawyers, the 'food police,' environmental Chicken Littles, power-drunk regulators, and unethical-to-dishonest scientists to fuel specious lawsuits, wacky social and political agendas, and the quest for personal fame and fortune."<ref>"[http://www.junkscience.com/faqs.html  Junk science FAQs]", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 7 February 2009.</ref> In reality it is a label that industry supporters use to attack any science that shows that industrial products and activities may be harmful to health or the environment. For example, the site has been named as a "leading debunker" of global warming by <i>Rolling Stone</i> magazine.<ref>"[http://www.junkscience.com/  Steven J. Milloy]", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 7 February 2009.</ref>
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Milloy is an 'adjunct scholar' at the [[Cato Institute]], which has published three of his books (see Publications below). He is also a columnist for FoxNews.com.
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Milloy's attacks on the scientific expertise and ethics of any scientist whose views or results threaten the interests of American corporations have always been marked by extreme sarcasm and aggression. When Dr. David Rall, founder of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, was fatally injured in a car accident, Milloy posted this 'obituary of the day' on his Junk Science website: 'Scratch one junk  scientist.... He was a bad guy when he was alive [and] death did not improve his track record.' When pressed to apologise to Rall's family, Milloy refused.<ref>Ben White, "[http://www.grist.org/news/muck/1999/10/18/dont/ Death Don't Have No Mercy]", <i>Grist Magazine</i>, 18 October 1999.</ref>
  
 
==Industry Connections==
 
==Industry Connections==
  
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The self-styled 'Junkman' worked in the 1990s for PR companies when he lobbied for, amongst others, the American Petroleum Institute, the International Food Additives Council, and [[Monsanto]] on the subject of 'food safety and labeling', ie biotech foods<ref>"[http://www.trwnews.net/Documents/Dow/junkscicom.htm CLEAR Profile: Steven Milloy and JunkScience.com]", Tittabawasse River Watch, December 2001, accessed 7 February 2009</ref>. He continues to attack critics of the safety of genetically engineered products and oppose the labelling of GM foods.<ref>"[http://www.junkscience.com/ JunkScience.com]", accessed 7 February 2009.</ref>  
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The self-styled 'Junkman' worked in the 1990s for PR companies when he lobbied for, amongst others, the [[American Petroleum Institute]], the [[International Food Additives Council]], and [[Monsanto]] on the subject of 'food safety and labeling', i.e. biotech foods<ref>"[http://www.trwnews.net/Documents/Dow/junkscicom.htm CLEAR Profile: Steven Milloy and JunkScience.com]", Tittabawasse River Watch, December 2001, accessed 7 February 2009</ref>. He continues to attack critics of the safety of genetically engineered products and oppose the labelling of GM foods.<ref>"[http://www.junkscience.com/ JunkScience.com]", accessed 7 February 2009.</ref>
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Evidence exists that Milloy's 'junk science' internet mission was founded with [[Philip Morris]] tobacco money as part of their campaign to undermine industry-critical research. The Philip Morris campaign was waged via front organisations such as [[The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition]] (TASSC), of which Milloy was executive director, and which is listed as the originator of the Junk Science website.<ref>Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, "[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html How Big Tobacco Helped Create 'the Junkman']", <i>PR Watch</i>, vol 7,no 3, 2000.</ref> Milloy himself "received a total of $180,000 in payments from Philip Morris for consulting services" in 2000 and 2001.<ref>John Ehrenfeld, "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-ehrenfeld/steven-milloy-a-biased-m_b_61390.html Steven Milloy. A Biased Mouthpiece For Fox Noise On Global Warming]", <i>Huffington Post</i>, 22 August 2007.</ref>. Not surprisingly he is a strong defender of the tobacco industry.<ref>See for example Steven Milloy, "[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100318,00.html Secondhand Smoke Scam]", FoxNews.com, 17 October 2003.</ref>
  
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Evidence exists that Milloy's 'junk science' internet mission was founded with [[Philip Morris]] tobacco money as part of their campaign to undermine industry-critical research. The Philip Morris campaign was waged via front organisations such as [[The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition]] (TASSC), of which Milloy is executive director, and which is listed as the originator of the Junk Science website.<ref>Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, "[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/junkman.html How Big Tobacco Helped Create 'the Junkman']", <i>PR Watch</i>, vol 7,no 3, 2000.</ref>
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[[ExxonMobil]] has also funded various Milloy projects including the Free Enterprise Action Institute and the Advancement of Sound Science Center, both located in Milloy's home. Milloy is also a key player in the Global Climate Science Team set up by ExxonMobil for the purpose of promoting the uncertainties surrounding climate science.<ref>John Ehrenfeld, "[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-ehrenfeld/steven-milloy-a-biased-m_b_61390.html Steven Milloy. A Biased Mouthpiece For Fox Noise On Global Warming]", <i>Huffington Post</i>, 22 August 2007.</ref>.
  
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TASSC was run by a division of Grey Advertising called APCO. It was "funded by Dow Chemical, Exxon, the National Pest Control Association, Amoco, Lorillard, Occidental Petroleum, Phillip Morris (Grey's largest client), W.R. Grace and other corporations interested in discrediting epidemiological and toxicological studies contrary to their interests".<ref>Mark Dowie, "[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20011231/dowie20011220 Stossel's Heroes]", <i>The Nation</i>, 20 December 2001.</ref>
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==Other Websites==
  
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==Other Associations==
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The publisher of the Junk Science website is a front group called Citizens for the Integrity of Science, (CFIS). The Board of CFIS includes Milloy and [[Michael Gough]] of the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]] and the [[Cato Institute]] and operates out of the former address of TASSC.<ref>"[http://www.trwnews.net/Documents/Dow/junkscicom.htm CLEAR Profile: Steven Milloy and JunkScience.com]", Tittabawasse River Watch, December 2001, accessed 7 February 2009</ref> CFIS, has published various websites to dispute scientific claims that corporations wished to dispute including: 
  
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Milloy is an 'adjunct scholar' at the [[Cato Institute]], which has published his books such as Junk Science Judo: Self Defense Against Health Scares and Scams . He is also a columnist for FoxNews.com and runs an organisation called [http://www.scientificintegrity.us/ Citizens for the Integrity of Science], (CFIS). Details about CFIS are scant but it appears to have some sort of board, of which only two members, including Milloy, are known. The other is Michael Gough of the [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]] (and Cato) who is the co-author with Milloy of Silencing Science (Cato Institute 1998).
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*IGF-1, Milk and Cancer: False & Misleading Claims from the Fear Profiteers<ref>"[http://www.igf-1-and-milk.com/ IGF-1, Milk and Cancer]", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 16 February 2009.</ref>
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*Aspartame Archives, a site promoting the safety of the artificial sweetner Aspartame, <ref>"[http://www.aspartamearchives.org/ Aspartame Archives]", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 28 September, 2007.</ref>
  
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Milloy was a leader in the already defunct [http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/usual.html NoMoreScares.com], a web site launched in August 2000 primarily to defend biotech products and malign Fenton Communications, one of the only PR firms in Washington DC willing to work with non-profit public interest groups and their relatively small PR budgets. Other coalition members listed included Elizabeth Whelan of the [[American Council on Science and Health]], [[Alex Avery]] and [Michael Fumento] of the [[Hudson Institute]] and [[Michael Gough]] of the [[Cato Institute]]. NoMoreScares disappeared almost as quickly as it was brought into existence, only to be replaced by [http://www.stoplabelinglies.com/ StopLabelingLies.com].
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Milloy was key player and spokesperson for the shortlived NoMoreScares.com web site that was launched in August 2000. Its role was primarily to defend biotech products and malign Fenton Communications, one of the only PR firms in Washington DC willing to work with non-profit public interest groups and their relatively small PR budgets.<ref>Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, "[http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2000Q3/usual.html The Usual Suspects]", <i>PR Watch</i>, vol 7, no 3, 2000.</ref> Other coalition members listed included [[Elizabeth Whelan]] of the [[American Council on Science and Health]], [[Alex Avery]] and [[Michael Fumento]] of the [[Hudson Institute]], and Michael Gough of the [[Cato Institute]].<ref>"[http://www.trwnews.net/Documents/Dow/junkscicom.htm CLEAR Profile: Steven Milloy and JunkScience.com]", Tittabawasse River Watch, December 2001, accessed 7 February 2009</ref>
  
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Both were used to publish [http://www.stoplabelinglies.com/pdf/fear_profiteers.pdf 'The Fear Profiteers'], by Milloy, Fumento, Gough, Whelan, [[John Carlisle]] and [[Henry I. Miller]]. It claims to uncover a 'tangled web of non-profit advocacy groups with a public relations "ring leader" playing spider'. The latter is a reference to Fenton Communications, one of the only PR firms in Washington DC willing to assist relatively low-budget non-profit public interest groups. These groups together with Fenton Communications are accused of being behind 'food scares' such as the concern over Monsanto's genetically-engineered growth hormone Bovine somatotropin (BST). this is injected into cows by some American farmers in order to boost milk production. BST is banned in all other major industrialised countries because of either human health or animal welfare concerns.  
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NoMoreScares.com was used to launch the book <i>The Fear Profiteers</i> by Milloy, Fumento, Gough, Whelan, [[John Carlisle]] and [[Henry I. Miller]]. It claims to uncover a "tangled web of non-profit advocacy groups with a public relations ring leader playing spider". The latter is a reference to Fenton Communications. These groups together with Fenton Communications are accused of being behind 'food scares' such as the concern over Monsanto's genetically-engineered growth hormone Bovine somatotropin (BST).<ref>Bonner Cohen et al, eds., "[http://www.stoplabelinglies.com/pdf/fear_profiteers.pdf The Fear Profiteers: Do ‘Socially Responsible’ Businesses Sow Health Scares to Reap Monetary Rewards?]", National
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Center for Public Policy and Junkscience.com, 2003.</ref> This is injected into cows by some American farmers in order to boost milk production. BST is banned in all other major industrialised countries because of either human health or animal welfare concerns.
  
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Their other main publication is 'Organic Industry Groups Spread Fear for Profit', later reissued as [http://www.stoplabelinglies.com/pdf/organicmarketing.pdf Marketing & The Organic Food Industry] (September 2000). It was written by [[Graydon Forrer]], [[Alex Avery]] and [[John Carlisle]]. The detailed biographies of the 3 authors provided in the document fails to mention that less than a year earlier Forrer was director of Executive Communications for the Monsanto Corporation.  
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Their other main publication was <i>Organic Industry Groups Spread Fear for Profit</i>, later reissued as <i>Marketing & The Organic Food Industry: A history of food fears, market manipulation and misleadin consumers</i>. It was written by [[Graydon Forrer]], [[Alex Avery]] and [[John Carlisle]].<ref>Graydon Forrer, Alex Avery and John Carlisle, "[http://www.stoplabelinglies.com/pdf/organicmarketing.pdf Marketing & The Organic Food Industry: A history of food fears, market manipulation and misleading consumers.]", Stop Labeling Lies, September 2000.</ref> The detailed biographies of the 3 authors provided in the document fails to mention that less than a year earlier Forrer was director of Executive Communications for the Monsanto Corporation.<ref>"[http://www.politicalfriendster.com/showConnection.php?id1=238&id2=4207 Connection between Monsanto and Graydon Forrer]", Political Friendster, accessed 16 February 2009.</ref>
  
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Milloy's attacks on the scientific expertise and ethics of any scientist whose views or results threaten the interests of American corporations have always been marked by extreme sarcasm and aggression. When Dr. David Rall, founder of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, was fatally injured in a car accident, Milloy posted this 'obituary of the day' on his Junk Science website: 'Scratch one junk  scientist.... He was a bad guy when he was alive [and] death did not improve his track record.' When pressed to apologise to Rall's family, Milloy refused.<ref>[http://www.clearproject.org/reports_milloy.html For more on Milloy]</ref>
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NoMoreScares was replaced by [[StopLabelingLies.com]] in 2002. StopLabelingLies.com continued to promote the two books and Milloy continued as spokesperson.<ref>See for example, "[http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Stop-Labeling-Lies-Coalition-668272.html Stop Labeling Lies Coalition Welcomes Efforts of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.]", <i>Marketwire</i>, 29 October 2005.</ref> The website claims to be "independent from any commercial or for-profit interests", which cannot be said of its participating organisations:<ref>"[http://www.stoplabelinglies.com/about-us.html About Stop Labeling Lies]", Stop Labeling Lies Coalition, accessed 7 February 2009. </ref>.
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* The [[Center for Global Food Issues]]
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* [[Consumer Alert]]
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* [[American Council on Science and Health]]
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* The [[National Center for Public Policy Research]]
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* [[Food Security Network]]
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* The [[Competitive Enterprise Institute]]
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* Citizens for the Integrity of Science 
  
 
==Publications==
 
==Publications==

Latest revision as of 16:35, 19 April 2009

Steven Milloy is best known as the founder and publisher of the Junk Science website.[1] He defines 'junk science' as "bad science used by lawsuit-happy trial lawyers, the 'food police,' environmental Chicken Littles, power-drunk regulators, and unethical-to-dishonest scientists to fuel specious lawsuits, wacky social and political agendas, and the quest for personal fame and fortune."[2] In reality it is a label that industry supporters use to attack any science that shows that industrial products and activities may be harmful to health or the environment. For example, the site has been named as a "leading debunker" of global warming by Rolling Stone magazine.[3]

Milloy is an 'adjunct scholar' at the Cato Institute, which has published three of his books (see Publications below). He is also a columnist for FoxNews.com.

Milloy's attacks on the scientific expertise and ethics of any scientist whose views or results threaten the interests of American corporations have always been marked by extreme sarcasm and aggression. When Dr. David Rall, founder of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, was fatally injured in a car accident, Milloy posted this 'obituary of the day' on his Junk Science website: 'Scratch one junk scientist.... He was a bad guy when he was alive [and] death did not improve his track record.' When pressed to apologise to Rall's family, Milloy refused.[4]

Industry Connections

The self-styled 'Junkman' worked in the 1990s for PR companies when he lobbied for, amongst others, the American Petroleum Institute, the International Food Additives Council, and Monsanto on the subject of 'food safety and labeling', i.e. biotech foods[5]. He continues to attack critics of the safety of genetically engineered products and oppose the labelling of GM foods.[6]

Evidence exists that Milloy's 'junk science' internet mission was founded with Philip Morris tobacco money as part of their campaign to undermine industry-critical research. The Philip Morris campaign was waged via front organisations such as The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition (TASSC), of which Milloy was executive director, and which is listed as the originator of the Junk Science website.[7] Milloy himself "received a total of $180,000 in payments from Philip Morris for consulting services" in 2000 and 2001.[8]. Not surprisingly he is a strong defender of the tobacco industry.[9]

ExxonMobil has also funded various Milloy projects including the Free Enterprise Action Institute and the Advancement of Sound Science Center, both located in Milloy's home. Milloy is also a key player in the Global Climate Science Team set up by ExxonMobil for the purpose of promoting the uncertainties surrounding climate science.[10].

Other Websites

The publisher of the Junk Science website is a front group called Citizens for the Integrity of Science, (CFIS). The Board of CFIS includes Milloy and Michael Gough of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Cato Institute and operates out of the former address of TASSC.[11] CFIS, has published various websites to dispute scientific claims that corporations wished to dispute including:

  • IGF-1, Milk and Cancer: False & Misleading Claims from the Fear Profiteers[12]
  • Aspartame Archives, a site promoting the safety of the artificial sweetner Aspartame, [13]

Milloy was key player and spokesperson for the shortlived NoMoreScares.com web site that was launched in August 2000. Its role was primarily to defend biotech products and malign Fenton Communications, one of the only PR firms in Washington DC willing to work with non-profit public interest groups and their relatively small PR budgets.[14] Other coalition members listed included Elizabeth Whelan of the American Council on Science and Health, Alex Avery and Michael Fumento of the Hudson Institute, and Michael Gough of the Cato Institute.[15]

NoMoreScares.com was used to launch the book The Fear Profiteers by Milloy, Fumento, Gough, Whelan, John Carlisle and Henry I. Miller. It claims to uncover a "tangled web of non-profit advocacy groups with a public relations ring leader playing spider". The latter is a reference to Fenton Communications. These groups together with Fenton Communications are accused of being behind 'food scares' such as the concern over Monsanto's genetically-engineered growth hormone Bovine somatotropin (BST).[16] This is injected into cows by some American farmers in order to boost milk production. BST is banned in all other major industrialised countries because of either human health or animal welfare concerns.

Their other main publication was Organic Industry Groups Spread Fear for Profit, later reissued as Marketing & The Organic Food Industry: A history of food fears, market manipulation and misleadin consumers. It was written by Graydon Forrer, Alex Avery and John Carlisle.[17] The detailed biographies of the 3 authors provided in the document fails to mention that less than a year earlier Forrer was director of Executive Communications for the Monsanto Corporation.[18]

NoMoreScares was replaced by StopLabelingLies.com in 2002. StopLabelingLies.com continued to promote the two books and Milloy continued as spokesperson.[19] The website claims to be "independent from any commercial or for-profit interests", which cannot be said of its participating organisations:[20].

Publications

Milloy claims to have written "hundreds of columns and articles published in newspapers and online" as well as the following books:[21]

  • Junk Science Judo: Self-defense Against Health Scares and Scams, (Cato Institute, 2001)
  • Silencing Science, with co-author Michael Gough (Cato Institute, 1999)
  • Science Without Sense: The Risky Business of Public Health Research, (Cato Institute, 1995)
  • Science-Based Risk Assessment: A Piece of the Superfund Puzzle, (National Environmental Policy Institute, 1995)

References

  1. ↑ "JunkScience.com", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 7 February 2009.
  2. ↑ "Junk science FAQs", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 7 February 2009.
  3. ↑ "Steven J. Milloy", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 7 February 2009.
  4. ↑ Ben White, "Death Don't Have No Mercy", Grist Magazine, 18 October 1999.
  5. ↑ "CLEAR Profile: Steven Milloy and JunkScience.com", Tittabawasse River Watch, December 2001, accessed 7 February 2009
  6. ↑ "JunkScience.com", accessed 7 February 2009.
  7. ↑ Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, "How Big Tobacco Helped Create 'the Junkman'", PR Watch, vol 7,no 3, 2000.
  8. ↑ John Ehrenfeld, "Steven Milloy. A Biased Mouthpiece For Fox Noise On Global Warming", Huffington Post, 22 August 2007.
  9. ↑ See for example Steven Milloy, "Secondhand Smoke Scam", FoxNews.com, 17 October 2003.
  10. ↑ John Ehrenfeld, "Steven Milloy. A Biased Mouthpiece For Fox Noise On Global Warming", Huffington Post, 22 August 2007.
  11. ↑ "CLEAR Profile: Steven Milloy and JunkScience.com", Tittabawasse River Watch, December 2001, accessed 7 February 2009
  12. ↑ "IGF-1, Milk and Cancer", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 16 February 2009.
  13. ↑ "Aspartame Archives", Citizens for the Integrity of Science, accessed 28 September, 2007.
  14. ↑ Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber, "The Usual Suspects", PR Watch, vol 7, no 3, 2000.
  15. ↑ "CLEAR Profile: Steven Milloy and JunkScience.com", Tittabawasse River Watch, December 2001, accessed 7 February 2009
  16. ↑ Bonner Cohen et al, eds., "The Fear Profiteers: Do ‘Socially Responsible’ Businesses Sow Health Scares to Reap Monetary Rewards?", National Center for Public Policy and Junkscience.com, 2003.
  17. ↑ Graydon Forrer, Alex Avery and John Carlisle, "Marketing & The Organic Food Industry: A history of food fears, market manipulation and misleading consumers.", Stop Labeling Lies, September 2000.
  18. ↑ "Connection between Monsanto and Graydon Forrer", Political Friendster, accessed 16 February 2009.
  19. ↑ See for example, "Stop Labeling Lies Coalition Welcomes Efforts of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.", Marketwire, 29 October 2005.
  20. ↑ "About Stop Labeling Lies", Stop Labeling Lies Coalition, accessed 7 February 2009.
  21. ↑ "Steven J. Milloy", JunkScience.com, accessed 7 February 2009.
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