Dr. Bronner’s Places Major Ad Buy to Present Clear Evidence from Former EPA Senior Scientist of Skyrocketing Herbicide and Insecticide Use on GMO Crops

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps is running a full page advertorial by company president David Bronner entitled, "Herbicide and Insecticide Use on GMO Crops Skyrocketing while Pro-GMO Media Runs Interference; Former EPA Senior Scientist's New Article...

October 20, 2014 | Source: Dr.Bronners | by Ryan Fletcher

For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Genetic Engineering page, Millions Against Monsanto page, Environment and Climate Resource Center page and our Health Issues page.

VISTA, CA – This month, Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, family-owned maker of the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America, is running a full page advertorial by company president David Bronner entitled, “Herbicide and Insecticide Use on GMO Crops Skyrocketing while Pro-GMO Media Runs Interference; Former EPA Senior Scientist’s New Article Sets Record Straight,” which summarizes a white paper by Dr. Ramon J. Seidler, “Pesticide Use on Genetically Engineered Crops.” A former EPA senior scientist, Dr. Seidler documents the rapid widespread failure of the Bt insecticidal trait in genetically engineered corn in the face of emerging resistance in target insects, leading to huge increases in both systemic insecticides that coat seeds and pre-emergent insecticides injected directly into soil. Dr. Seidler also documents the still under-reported failure of herbicide-tolerant traits leading to huge increases in herbicide use. Dr. Bronner’s ad-buy is intended to spread this research and analysis far and wide, including in media outlets that have been publishing misinformation regarding GMOs.

The ads will run between October 15 and November 1 in
The New Yorker, Scientific American, Harpers, Harvard, The Nation, Mother Jones, The Progressive, and
Thrive magazines.
To view the ad, go to:http://www.drbronner.com/gmoadbuy.pdf

“We are running these ads because the public needs to know that rather than reduce pesticide inputs GMOs are causing them to skyrocket in amount and toxicity,” says David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s. “Unfortunately, recent high-profile pro-GMO articles in The New Yorker and other publications amount to pro-industry puff pieces that provide cover to the chemical industry even as the EPA and USDA rubber-stamp their next generation 2,4 D herbicide-tolerant crops. Dr. Seidler cites and links recent scientific literature and media reports, and should be required reading for all journalists covering GMOs, as well as for citizens generally to understand why their right to know if food is genetically engineered is so important.”

Illustrating the concern that the GMO industry exerts undue influence over journalists and scientists, Science and Nature magazines refused to run the advertisement. In an email to Dr. Bronner’s staff, a Science magazine representative stated:
“This has gone up the ladder quite far and our CEO along with the board have come back saying that we cannot accept the ad. We’re concerned about backlash from our members and potentially getting into a battle with the GMO industry.” Nature magazine initially attempted to sideline the ad into a small biotechnology journal before refusing to run it in their main journal.

To view the email exchange between Dr. Bronner’s and Science magazine representatives, go to: http://www.drbronner.com/scienceemails.pdf

David Bronner provided these further comments: “I’m concerned how cowardly the leading scientific publications in the world are being here, although I appreciate Science’s upfront explanation in writing. Science and Nature magazines, along with the scientific enterprise in general, are already embroiled in this mess. They are not above the fray and have at times uncritically helped perpetuate industry myths; for example, in an addendum to Dr. Seidler’s white paper, we illustrate how Science in their August 2013 ‘Special Issue on Smarter Pest Control’, published a misleading chart showing soil-applied insecticide use declining over time ending in 2010 versus increasing Bt corn adoption until 2013. This clearly misleads readers into thinking that soil-applied insecticide use remains at historical lows to the current day on Bt corn, rather than spiking dramatically in recent years due to rapid widespread resistance in target insects. Furthermore and inexplicably, neither Science (nor USDA) bother to count the newer more problematic systemic neonicotinoid insecticides that now coat over 90% of GMO corn and soy seeds. As a lover of science and subscriber to Science magazine, I hope to see scientific skepticism increase toward the chemical industry and their fog of bad science.”