The world according to Monsanto : pollution, corruption, and

98 the world according to monsanto“the main reviewer of the article was Professor Dale Baumann of CornellUniversity, who had been paid by Monsanto to test rBGH on cows. It isclear that this was a real conflict of interest that Science never should haveallowed.”For a neophyte, the question of the reviewer may seem trivial, but it is essential.All reputable scientific journals operate in the same way. When a researchersubmits an article for publication, the editorial board appoints apanel of reviewers (at least two) selected for their scientific expertise, whoare asked to evaluate the quality of the paper. These unpaid reviewers mayask to consult the raw data on which the research relies if they think it necessary.If their opinion is positive, the editor gives the green light for publication.It is important to note that both the identity of the reviewers and thecontent of the article are kept confidential until the date of publication, toavoid pressure of any kind, a principle that, as will be seen, is not always respected.In any event, the label “peer-reviewed” constitutes a guarantee ofquality and independence.*“The second point,” Hansen went on, “is that the FDA truncated the resultsof the ninety-day study. Contrary to what it claimed, the absorption ofrBGH by rats did have a significant effect, since 20 to 30 percent of themproduced antibodies, which means that their immune system had been mobilizedto detect and neutralize pathogenic agents.” Made public in 1998thanks to disclosures in Canada that will be discussed in the next chapter,this information forced an agency representative, John Scheid of the CVM,to acknowledge that the agency had never had access to the study’s raw data,but instead had relied on a summary provided by Monsanto. 6 “Those resultsshould have induced further long-term studies of the effects of the growthhormone, and especially of IGF-1, on the quality and composition of milkfrom treated cows,” said Hansen, “but the FDA preferred to shut its eyes.”IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1, also known as tissue growth factor) isat the heart of the dispute about rBGH. This hormonal substance is producedby the liver under the stimulus of growth hormone in all mammals. Inhumans, it is present in large quantities in colostrum, making infant growthpossible. Its production reaches a peak at puberty and declines with age.*The week following the publication of the article in Science, Dr. Jean-Yves Nau, editor of the sciencepage in Le Monde, devoted an article to it: “Les chercheurs de la FDA estiment que l’utilisationde cette hormone ne présente pas de danger pour le consommateur,” Le Monde, August 30,1990.