Stossel, Junk Journalism & the Poison Peddlers

[Guest guest]

Stossel, Junk Journalism & the Poison Peddlers

by Barbara Keeler and Sterling

" Science is highly politicized .... Beware of science that feeds political

agendas. "

Stossel, 20/20 reporter, " Junk Science: What You Know That May Not Be

So "

The 20/20 hit piece on organics by Stossel is old news to readers of

alternative publications. Long a controversial voice in journalism, Stossel

became more so after his February 4, 2000 20/20 report, " The Food You Eat. "

Stossel's main hatchet man on the segment, Dennis Avery, was not identified

on 20/20 as the author of SAVING THE PLANET WITH PESTICIDES AND PLASTIC, or

as an employee of the Hudson Institute. Agribusinesses such as Dow,

Monsanto,

ConAgra, and Novartis are leading funders of the Hudson Institute.

Represented on Hudson Institute's board is the biotech industry's PR firm,

Burson-Marsteller, involved in a massive PR campaign to counteract the

escalating global anti-GE movement in the US and abroad. Those familiar with

Avery and the Hudson Institute were not surprised that he was eager to smear

the organic food industry on 20/20.

The unanswered question about the segment was why Stossel chose a

mouthpiece

for pesticides, biotech, chemical fertilizers, and agribusiness as 20/20's

expert on organics. Moreover, why would a respected journalist create a

segment calculated to mislead his audience about organic food?

We cannot say for sure, and maybe the question will never be answered for

certain. We have, however, connected the dots from Stossel and ABC back to

Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, ConAgra and others with vested interests in

discrediting organic foods.

As the segment was produced, ABC was receiving a percentage of sales from

" Stossel in the Classroom, " educational materials published by the Palmer R.

Chitester Fund and based on Stossel's ABC reports. The Chitester Fund is a

conservative foundation dependant on contributions from the likes of the

M. Olin Foundation. The Olin Foundation was created and is still controlled

by the Olin Corporation, a top producer of agricultural chemicals.

On the Board of Associates of the Chitester Fund sits Herb London, the

President of the Hudson Institute. London also holds the M. Olin

Professorship of Humanities at New York University. The Hudson Institute

received grants from the Olin Foundation of $125,000 in 1993 and $300,000 in

1994.

All of the above suggests an inbreeding of interests between two

conservative foundations, a conservative think tank, and a supposedly

independent journalist. Add the funding Hudson receives from chemical and

agribusiness companies and the inbreeding appears potentially corruptive,

even before factoring the representation of a biotech PR firm on its board.

The interlinks go further. The Olin Corporation was, along with Occidental

Chemical and Dupont, one of the major firms involved in the Love Canal

environmental scandal in Niagara Falls, NY. Here is Stossel's comment

during

a January 9, 1997 special report, titled " Junk Science: What You Know That

May Not Be So " :

" What happens when government policy is based on junk science? Billions of

dollars are misspent, and people's lives altered forever. Love Canal. Times

Beach. Defoliant Agent Orange. These names arouse fear because of the

chemical dioxin. Dioxin is very poisonous. We know that from animal tests.

Tiny amounts kill guinea pigs. That's why our government's spending hundreds

of millions of dollars to protect us from dioxin. "

" But is that good science? Just because a chemical hurts animals, does that

mean it's harmful to us? "

Stossel proceeds to argue that dioxin isn't harmful, and that cases such as

Love Canal are based on faulty science. The Environmental Protection Agency

begs to differ. A draft of a long-overdue EPA report concludes that dioxin

is

indeed a dangerous and persistent " human carcinogen. " Along the way, he

manages to smear a variety of other supposed cases of " junk science, "

including breast implant lawsuits, during his report.

Apparently, Stossel hasn't learned his lesson: on July 15, he did another

dishonest slam piece of the story behind the film ERIN BROCKOVICH. Though

the

giant utility company PG & E admits to illegally releasing the carcinogen

chromium-6 in Hinkley, CA (they settled for $333 million with local

residents), Stossel claimed there is no proof that chromium in drinking

water

can cause cancer. PG & E's own documents concede " the material is toxic, " and

covered up the fact that they had released high concentrations of the

material in the water (up to 20 parts per million, according to PG & E's own

measurements.) When the real-life Brockovich, a legal assistant who

uncovered

the corporate pollution, challenged Stossel to give himself and his family

chromium-6 laced water, he declined. His main source for the piece,

incidentally, was Fumento, a Senior Fellow of the Hudson Institute.

To be fair to Stossel, these connected dots do not prove he is for sale. It

would be too easy to demonize him as an unprincipled hack for business

interests. In truth, Stossel has been at times a surprisingly lone voice of

courage in the mainstream media, speaking out in defense of free speech

against frightening examples of censorship in America. If he were merely a

cynical opportunist, he would have little reason to take stands where the

rest of the establishment media remains silent.

Whatever his faults, Stossel appears to be sincere in his libertarian-like

quest to limit the power of the state. If he was seduced by his ideology

into supporting dubious claims, he certainly wouldn't be the first. Even so,

nothing excuses his promotion of deceptive science that serves big business.

By incompetence or outright deceit, Stossel has participated in what

many regard as a libel of a multi-billion dollar industry with rapidly

rising

political influence. Such a blunder is rarely ignored. Some critics believe

Stossel's more questionable works are catching up with him. For better or

worse, many predict his is on his way down.

Barbara Keeler has focussed on nutrition and food safety as a journalist

and contributor to nutrition, child development, parenting, health, and

science textbooks.

Sterling is publisher of Konformist.com, and the LA Meeting

Coordinator for the international Great Boycott targetting the leading

multinational producers of pesticides, GE food seeds, and toxic chemicals.

He has spoken about green and food safety issues on the BBC and a variety

of other radio and televsion stations.

SUGGESTED LINKS TO OTHER New Hope Media STORIES

Organics: The Myths, The Facts

OTA Applauds EWG's Exposure of 20/20

Activists Say Stossel's Organic Apology Falls Short 8/14/00

OTA Says Planned Apology Falls Short, May Sue 8/8/00

Group Calls For Stossel's Job After Organic " Lie " Exposed 7/31/00

Prime-Time Organic Story Called Unfair

SOURCES FOR ARTICLE:

" ' Brockovich', Fact or Fiction? " Josh Grossberg

E! Online

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,6824,00.html

FAIR On Stossel

http://www.fair.org/media-outlets/stossel.html

" Prime-time Propagandist " Mastio

Salon Magazine

http://www.salonmag.com/media/feature/2000/02/25/stossel

The Hudson Institute

http://www.hudson.org

Fumento Website

http://www.fumento.com/

Palmer R. Chitester Fund

http://www.prcfund.org

BUYING A MOVEMENT: Right-Wing Foundations and American Politics

People for the American Way

http://www.pfaw.org/issues/right/rw/rep_rwfound.html

" Risky Journalism "

Reason Magazine

http://www.reason.com/9704/fe.stosselint.html

" Corporate Junk Science In The Media, " S. Herman

Z Magazine

http://www.zmag.org/ScienceWars/junk2.htm