Can Biotechnology Survive Bad Science, Media Hype, and Environmentalists?
By Terry Francl and Mark Jenner (February 2001) [OBJECTIVE SCIENCE.COM] In August 1999, television viewers across the country tuned in to CBS Evening News heard correspondent Wyatt Andrews say, “This growing concern over biotechnology in the food chain is also reflected in a new study, the first field study to show that America’s favorite insects, the Monarch Butterfly, can die from the pollen of gene-altered corn.” Andrews’ statement was gross hyperbole, if not an outright misrepresentation of the research he reported. In an effort to be the first to report important, “breaking” news, media outlets typically extract such stories from press releases issued before a scientific study is released. Press releases, aimed at getting media coverage, highlight a few “red meat” issues and attempt to simplify the findings of complex research. The studies themselves are steeped in technical terms and weighted down with statistical data–hardly attractive fare for the general public or the media t
