Confronting Pseudoscience and
Threats from a Corporate Front
Group:
The American Council on Science
and Health
Martin Donohoe
Disclosure
• Previous regular column for Medscape
– Small payment per article
– While much of Medscape’s content is
supported by the pharmaceutical
industry, my columns have been free of
industry support
• No other funding sources or conflicts of
interest
Outline
• Background: Global Warming
• Definition of Corporate Front Group
• American Council on Science and
Health (ACSH) – history, staff, and
funding
• ACSH – Pseudoscience and
Misinformation
Outline
• ACSH – Attacks on Scientists and the
Scientific Enterprise
• Implications for Science and Public
Health
• Other examples of obfuscation of
science by corporate interests
• Conclusions
Outline
• Corporate Front Groups
• American Council on Science and Health
• Corporate PR Tactics
• Conclusions
Corporate 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
Background
• 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
– Crichton’s State of Fear questions existence of
human-caused global warming
– Crichton also received the American Association of
Petroleum Geologists’ journalism award
ACSH and Global Warming
• Leader referred to “belief” that
burning fossil fuels has caused global
warming as pseudoscience
• Criticized environmental scientists as
“doomsayers” and “fearmongers”
ACSH Response
• Threatened litigation against
Medscape
• Article pulled, then republished with
additional material
• ?Loss of potential readership?
ACSH:
Dr Elizabeth Whelan – former president (d. 2014)
• Founded in 1978 by Drs. Elizabeth
Whelan and Frederick Stare
• Whelan’s early writing career included:
– Freelance writing assignment for Pfizer
criticizing the FDA
– “Consumer magazine” pieces for Harper’s
Bazaar and Glamour (fashion magazines)
– Books: Panic in the Pantry and Toxic Terror
• Whelan’s 2003 salary = $326,612
ACSH:
Dr 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
ACSH:
Dr 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
ACSH
• ACSH Board of Directors includes antiregulatory 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
ACSH
• 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”
ACSH
• 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
ACSH
• Funders have included Bayer
CropScience, Syngenta, Procter and
Gamble, National Petrochemical and
Refiners Assn, McDonalds, Altria, CocaCola, Dr. Pepper/Snapple, General Mills,
Nestle USA, National Soft Drink
Association, others
ACSH
Sound 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.)
ACSH:
Pseudoscience and Misinformation
• Attacked the precautionary principle
–“anti-science and anti-technology
phobia”
–“fundamentally reactionary and
elitist”
–“more on the order of theology [than
science]”
ACSH:
Pseudoscience and Misinformation
• Minimized the effects of
environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)
on human health
–40,000 deaths/yr in U.S.
• Opposed FDA regulation of ecigarettes
ACSH:
Pseudoscience and Misinformation
• Promoted smokeless tobacco, snus,
and e-cigarettes as smoking
cessation aids
• Opposed graphic tobacco package
warnings
ACSH:
Pseudoscience 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
ACSH:
Pseudoscience 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 Group’s “Skin
Deep” list of safe cosmetics
ACSH:
Pseudoscience 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
ACSH:
Pseudoscience 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
ACSH:
Pseudoscience and Misinformation
• Claimed “irradiated food is safe,
wholesome and nutritious” and “no
radioactive isotopes are involved”
• Promotes fracking
– Whelan: Fracking “doesn’t 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
ACSH:
Pseudoscience 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)
Pesticides
• 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
“Phony 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 children’s
toys
ACSH: 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 who…pursued self-serving
financial opportunities through litigation”
– Called HSPH a “hotbed of
pseudoscience and political agitation”
ACSH: 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
Barry 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
Erin Brokovich
• Received Harvard School of Public
Health’s highest honor, the Julius
Richmond Award
• Exposed Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG
and E’s) pollution of California
groundwater with chromium-6 (linked to
stomach cancer)
ACSH: 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 “echo[ing] the campaign of radical
environmental groups seeking to scare people
about the safe use of pesticides” and of
“allow[ing] himself to be used as a pawn in a
campaign against…atrazine”
Implications 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 NBC’s Today Show,
CNN Live, BBC, and CNBC’s 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
Implications 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
Implications 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
Implications 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
Educational Deficits Impede
Public’s 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
Would You Sign a Petition to
Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide?
1. It can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
2. It is a major component in acid rain
3. It can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
4. It can kill you if accidentally inhaled
5. It contributes to erosion
6. It decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
7. It has been found in tumors of terminal cancer
patients
Geographic Ignorance
• Percent of US teens unable to locate the
following on a map:
– United States – 11%
– Pacific Ocean – 29%
– Japan – 58%
– United Kingdom – 68%
Pseudoscientific Beliefs
Percentage of Americans who believe “at
least to some degree” in these “phenomena”
•
•
•
•
Astrology
UFOs
Reincarnation
Fortune-Telling
1976
17%
24%
9%
4%
1997
37%
30%
25%
14%
Ignorance/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
Pseudoscientific 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)
Ignorance/Pseudoscientific
Beliefs
• 22% of Americans don’t know whether an atomic
bomb has ever been dropped (2000)
• 25% of Americans don’t 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)
Corporate PR Tactics
• Greenwash: Public relations/ad
campaigns
– Chevron’s “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”
Corporate 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
Corporate PR Tactics
• Invoke poor people as beneficiaries
• Characterize opposition as
“technophobic,” anti-science,” “antibusiness,” and “against progress”
• Portray their products as
environmentally beneficial in the
absence of (or despite the) evidence
Sponsored Environmental
Educational Materials
• Corporate-sponsored and
supported by a loose
coalition of antiregulatory
zealots, corporate polluters,
lapdog scientists and
misguided parents
Sponsored Environmental
Educational Materials - Examples
• Exxon’s “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”
Sponsored Environmental
Educational Materials - Examples
• American Nuclear Society’s
“Activities with the Atoms Family”
• Dow’s “Chemipalooza”
Environment of AntiScience/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
Recommendations
• 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
Contact Info
Martin T Donohoe
http://www.publichealthandsocialjustice.org
http://www.phsj.org
martindonohoe@phsj.org