Independent Big Ag Research - Lose/Lose!
Critics of agricultural biotechnology claim that there is no transparency and no independent evaluation of transgenic crop products. Of course, there are many, many cases where academic labs are recruited to perform independent analyses. When independent results do not match the company results, the project is DOA, at least temporarily. When the independent results do match, and those scientists report them, they are admonished as shills of Big Ag. The implication is that companies do not fund research, they fund the manufacturing of favorable results. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. This came about because I found a website listing USA public universities and the funds donated to them by ag companies. This is all public record. The surrounding text said that university results could not be trusted because of financial influence. Who else should pay for the company's research? The bottom line is simple, independent research is valued because