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Monsanto Submitted "Fake Scientific Data" Says Former Exec

by: dsnodgrass

Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 12:12:31 PM PST

( - promoted by Jill Richardson)

Monsanto's former managing directior of India operations is talking, and it's not pretty for the behemoth of genetic modification. Tiruvadi Jagadisan is accusing his former employer of faking scientific data with the intent of evading the government's regulatory requirements. The 84 year-old Jagadisan is quoted as saying, "I retired from the company as I felt the management of Monsanto, USA, was exploiting our country." Jagadisan had been with Monsanto for almost 20 years.

dsnodgrass :: Monsanto Submitted "Fake Scientific Data" Says Former Exec

Jagadisan claims Monsanto had willing enablers within India's regulatory machine who Monsanto appeared eager to access.

...the company "used to fake scientific data" submitted to government regulatory agencies to get commercial approvals for its products in India. The former Monsanto boss said government regulatory agencies with which the company used to deal with in the 1980s simply depended on data supplied by the company while giving approvals to herbicides. "The Central Insecticide Board was supposed to give these approvals based on the location and crop-specific data from India. But it simply accepted foreign data supplied by Monsanto. They did not even have a test tube to validate the data and, at times, the data itself was faked," Jagadisan said.

Incredibly, Monsanto's response to the allegation appears to put the blame squarely on the Indian regulatory system for accepting the bogus data.

Asked to comment on Jagadisan's allegations, a Monsanto spokesperson said: "We have full faith in the Indian regulatory system, which has its checks and measures in place to ensure accuracy and authenticity of data furnished to them." On approval of GM crops, the spokesperson said the regulatory process was stringent and "no biotech crops are allowed in the market until they undergo extensive and rigid crop safety assessments, following strict scientific protocols".

It appears that Jagadasian's accusation has contributed to a decision that hits Monsanto where it hurts most.

The Indian Government has banned the growing of genetically manipulated (GM) eggplant. The ban will remain until independent scientific studies satisfy the public and experts that the crop has no long term negative impacts on human health and the environment. "This is a stunning victory for India's precautionary approach to GM crops," says Gene Ethics Director Bob Phelps. […] "Influencing the Indian decision was the whistle-blown by Tiruvadi Jagadisan, a former Monsanto Director, who publicly disclosed that the company had faked scientific data to gain regulatory approvals.

Based on past history, what the Indian Government actually does with the independent scientific studies bears watching.

On a side note, hopefully those magnanimous souls who were eager to express fake outrage after the IPCC email hacking will react with equal outrage toward Monsanto.

Cross-posted at DKos

Tags: Food Safety, (All Tags)

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Monsanto Submitted "Fake Scientific Data" Says Former Exec | 5 comments

SOP (4.00 / 2)

Everything in that article is standard operating procedure for the biotech and ag chemical industry.

regulatory process was stringent and "no biotech crops are allowed in the market until they undergo extensive and rigid crop safety assessments, following strict scientific protocols".

Standard rhetoric any time an ag technology company is questioned.

Fake data also is standard procedure. In the discovery phase of a patent infringement lawsuit in the U.S., Monsanto was shown to have omitted unfavorable data from an application for some product. Nevertheless, FDA blithely continues to unquestioningly accept Monsanto data. Can't imagine why. It isn't as if FDA has any employees that used to work for Monsanto.

What? You shout that I am in error? Good Golly Miss Molly, what nitwit would let former FDA employees run FDA?

by: count @ Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 15:01:20 PM CST

by: you @ soon

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correction (4.00 / 2)

I meant "let former Monsanto employees run FDA", of course.

by: count @ Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 16:14:47 PM CST

[ Parent ]

independent scientific studies (4.00 / 1)

I wonder how anyone might do an independent study. Monsanto refuses to allow outsiders access to the product.

by: count @ Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 15:07:55 PM CST

by: you @ soon

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Monsnato has always rigged the process (4.00 / 4)

GMO's were given a pass on the standard testing required from the very beginning when then VP Dan Quayle, as head of the Council on Competitiveness, allowed GMO's into the market quickly so the US could become the leader in GMO's.

Monsanto does not know how to do business any other way.

by: OrganicGeorge @ Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 16:05:36 PM CST

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Michael Clayton (4.00 / 1)

The film Michael Clayton is playing in my mental theater. The company is there called United Northfield, not Monsanto or Syngenta, but the film is an example of the possible consequences of covered-up data or forged data.

by: count @ Fri Feb 19, 2010 at 21:32:35 PM CST

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Monsanto Submitted "Fake Scientific Data" Says Former Exec | 5 comments