Our Daily Poison by Marie-Monique Robin

Author:Marie-Monique Robin [Robin, Marie-Monique]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781595589309
Publisher: New Press, The

When Manufacturers Evade Embarrassing Questions

I hadn’t expected Angelika Tritscher’s advice to seek an interview with representatives from the pesticide industry. Naturally, as I was particularly interested in chlorpyrifos-methyl and, in a broader sense, in chlorpyrifos, one of the most controversial insecticides, I contacted the headquarters of Dow AgroSciences, one of its major worldwide producers, in Midland, Michigan, during one of the two long trips I took to the United States to carry out my investigation. On October 2, 2009, Jan Zurvalec, the head of public relations at the multinational company, forwarded my request to Sue Breach, her counterpart at the European branch, based in London. On October 13, she wrote me a very pleasant e-mail asking me to send her the questions I wanted to ask during the filmed interview: “I cannot guarantee direct participation in the program, but we will consider your request and questions with care and duly respond.”19

To be honest, I harbored no illusions, given that Monsanto had refused all dialogue during my previous investigation recounted in The World According to Monsanto; while Dow and Monsanto have always been competitors on the pesticides, plastics, and chemicals markets, they have always stuck together when it comes to defending the interests of the chemical industry. And on October 16, I received a negative response from Sue Breach: “As an organisation we are always open to media interaction regarding our products and activities, particularly in the area of health, safety and the environment. However, while we appreciate the offer to be interviewed, we regretfully have to decline on this occasion as following a review of some of your previous work, we have legitimate concerns as to whether our perspectives would be fairly represented in the proper context.” In conclusion, the representative for Dow AgroSciences offered to send me “written feedback” to my questions.

Then something very amusing happened. I decided to contact the organizations that represented the chemical industry in Europe, and very quickly, I observed that their directors were all consulting each other about my “case,” exchanging several e-mails, in which a certain Thomas Lyall, from the “European Office of Governmental Affairs” at Dow in Brussels, was actively participating. I realized all this when one of the directors sent me an e-mail and forgot to delete all the exchanges that had preceded it. Eventually, the European Chemical Industrial Council declined my interview offer. As did the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA), an official lobby for large agricultural firms also based in the Belgian capital. On January 28, 2010, I received an e-mail from Phil Newton, its director of public relations, to whom I had sent my questions concerning—on a very “basic” level—the “role played by industry in the process of pesticides evaluation” and “data confidentiality.”

“Dear Marie-Monique,” he wrote. “It is important to note that all plant protection products used in European agriculture are fully assessed and tested according to relevant EU rules (Directive 91/414/EEC, to be replaced by Regulation 1107/2009/EC). Independent peer reviews of all data are conducted by the European Food Safety Authority.

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