The Smell of Smear

Letter-to-the-editor response by Will Fantle, Research Director for The Cornucopia Institute to LA Times ‘anti-organic’ story.

Your recent story, “Something Smells in the Organics Section,” would be laughable if the same smell test were applied to those critical of organic food.

A scratch and sniff test applied to The Hudson Institute, a dogged critic of organic farming, reveals crucial backing from chemical giants like Monsanto, Dow, and DuPont. These firms stand to lose a bundle should growing legions of Americans continue to choose food produced without toxic pesticides and herbicides.

Less than funny was an urban legend inserted into the story’s body alleging that organic crops were “five times likelier to show fecal [manure] contamination” than conventional crops, hence causing more disease. What your readers and apparently the story’s author don’t know is the source of this baloney.

Earlier this year we interviewed Dr. Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, the lead University of Minnesota researcher involved with the farm manure study. He told us the report actually concluded there was “no statistically different” risk in the pathogenic contamination of certified organic and conventional produce. Dr. Diez-Gonzalez then detailed a very heated discussion he had with The Hudson Institute’s Alex Avery who was upset with these findings. Avery told him that their interpretations were “not correct.” Undeterred by the facts, Avery saturated the media with a news release spinning his horseapples.

In your paper’s story, Rutger’s scientist Dr. Joseph Rosen says there’s “not sufficient science” to support the claims of organic supporters including the reputable public-interest watchdog Consumer’s Union. Contacting Consumer’s Union, we learned that their article in Consumer Reports, attacked by Dr. Rosen, on the risks posed by pesticides on fruit and vegetables was subject to the customary peer review of other respected scientists. As your story duly noted, Rosen’s anti-organic conference was part of a national meeting of the American Chemical Society.

The bottom line is, who should your reporters and the public trust? Agrichemical interests and their mouthpieces who smear organic food or Consumers Union, a not-for-profit institution dedicated to protecting the interests of food buyers?

Mr. Fantle is the Research Director for The Cornucopia Institute, a Wisconsin-based non-profit organization working on farm and food policy issues.

OpEd