Public Interest Attorney Steven Druker was interviewed by Ryan Clover-Owens at Durland Alternatives Library during Druker’s recent Ithaca visit [1]. Their discussion covered many topics including how genetically engineered organisms (GMOs) came to be so prevalent in the current industrial agriculture and food system; the role of academic scientists in misleading the public about the risks of genetic engineering; how both arrogance and the profit motive harm the quality of science; what happens to scientists whose work challenges the safety of genetic engineering and what can a concerned person do about it. Steven Druker encourages scientists and non-scientists to get informed and speak out.
To watch the video of Ryan Clover-Owens’s interview (20 minutes) with Steven Druker go to: Steven Druker Interview: Genetic Engineering and the Subversion of Science. [2]
Additional data supporting Druker’s interview answers is presented in his book Altered Genes Twisted Truth [3]. For additional reading on Public Interest vs Private Interest Science see:
O’Brien, M. H. (1993). Being a Scientist Means Taking Sides [4]. BioScience, 706-708.
Wilhelm Peekhaus (2010). The Neoliberal University and Agricultural Biotechnology: Reports From the Field. [5] The Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 30: 415-429.
So, A. D., Sampat, B. N., Rai, A. K., Cook-Deegan, R., Reichman, J. H., Weissman, R., & Kapczynski, A. (2008). Is Bayh-Dole Good for Developing Countries? Lessons from the US Experience. [6] PLoS Biology 6(10), e262.
Arancibia, F. (2013). Challenging the Bioeconomy: The Dynamics of Collective Action in Argentina [7]. Technology in Society, 35(2), 79-92.
