Monsanto Caught Ghostwriting Its Own GMO Safety Reviews For A Stanford Scientist

by Kalee Brown

Monsanto was recently caught “ghostwriting” pro-GMO content for a Stanford University Fellow, Henry I. Miller. In light of this information and the emails released exposing the company’s ties to Miller, the public is now questioning Monsanto’s influence over both mainstream news and scientific research.

The GMO giant already faces criticism and public scrutiny over their monopoly over the seeds and farming industries, and particularly for their carcinogenic herbicide, RoundUp, which endangers both human health and the environment.

If you’ve never heard of the term “ghostwriting,” it refers to when an author writes an article, speech, or other text knowing it will be accredited to another person. This is common practice in the publishing world, as many popular authors simply don’t have the time to pump out tons of content, and many other writers don’t have the fame to increase the reach of their articles.

It’s often a win-win situation, as one writer gets to be credited for more content that they’ve simply paid for, while another is able to reach a greater audience by “ghostwriting” a piece of content under someone else’s name. In many cases, ghostwriting allows people to spread information and content to a greater number of people by using another person’s name to do so.

However, ghostwriting can become a huge issue when conflicts of interest exist. In the case of Monsanto employees ghostwriting pro-GMO content under a “respected” Stanford scientist’s name, it’s pretty easy to see the ethical issues at hand.

Monsanto Emails Reveal Employees Ghostwrite Pro-GMO Content Under Stanford Scientist’s Name

The revelations regarding Monsanto’s influence over the news and scientific research isn’t necessarily new. Earlier this year, Monsanto was in the line of fire again over allegations of ghostwriting scientific studies and papers that were pro-GMO. In February 2015, Monsanto executive William Heydens actually sent an email to employees requesting that they ghostwrite parts of a scientific study.

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