scientific integrity policy


U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologist Franck Dayan observes wild-type and herbicide-resistant biotypes of Palmer Amaranth (pigweed) as Mississippi State University graduate student, Daniela Ribeiro collects samples for DNA analysis at the ARS Natural Products Utilization Research Unit in Oxford, MS on July 20, 2011. USDA photo by Stephen Ausmus. Photo: Stephen Ausmus, USDA/CC BY 2.0 (Flickr)

Is Scientific Integrity Safe at the USDA?

, senior analyst, Food and Environment

August 15, 2018 11:38 AM EDT

Science is critical to everything the US Department of Agriculture does—helping farmers produce a safe, abundant food supply, protecting our soil and water for the future, and advising all of us about good nutrition to stay healthy. I recently wrote about the Trump administration’s new USDA chief scientist nominee, Scott Hutchins, and the conflicts he would bring from a career narrowly focused on developing pesticides for Dow.

But meanwhile, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue last week abruptly announced a proposed reorganization of the USDA’s research agencies. This move has implications for whoever takes up the post of chief scientist—as do new survey findings released yesterday, which suggest that the Trump administration is already having detrimental effects on science and scientists at the USDA. Read more >

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Is CDC Banning the Use of Scientific Words? It’s Time for CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald to Speak Up

, Deputy director, Center for Science & Democracy

December 16, 2017 10:45 AM EDT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been prohibited from using certain words (including diversity, science-based, and vulnerable) in any documents related to next year’s budget, the Washington Post reported late Friday. New CDC Director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald has the opportunity to clarify that no such restrictions exist and that staff are explicitly encouraged to make science the centerpiece of the CDC’s work. Read more >

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What Does Scott Gottlieb’s Leadership Mean for Scientific Integrity at the FDA?

, Lead science and policy analyst

May 9, 2017 4:24 PM EDT

Later this afternoon the Senate will vote to confirm Scott Gottlieb as the next U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner. What does this mean for scientists and science-based policymaking at the FDA? His conflicts of interest are certainly an indication that the pharmaceutical industry will benefit more from his tenure than Americans’ health. Read more >

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How’s EPA’s Science Advice Process Doing? Celebrating Sunshine and Progress at the EPA

, Lead science and policy analyst

March 15, 2017 11:05 AM EDT

Happy sunshine week! It’s a week to celebrate one of the pillars of our democracy: access to information. This year’s sunshine week seems especially important because of the current Administration’s open hostility toward the media, which has been shining a light on the federal government’s operations day in and day out and illustrating the clear conflicts of interest of the corporate cabinet. Read more >

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U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture Research Service (ARS) plant molecular biologist Alisa Huffaker and postdoctoral research associate Martha Vaughan treat plants with the maize peptide ZmPep1, which is a signal to activate a broad array of defense in the greenhouse at the Chemistry Research Unit in Gainesville, FL on Oct. 4, 2011. Photo: Hans Alborn/CC-BY 2.0, Wikimedia

Science Must Trump Politics at the USDA, Especially During Turbulent Times

, Lead science and policy analyst

January 26, 2017 3:54 PM EDT

It has been a rough week for scientists at federal agencies. As the administration has changed over and new leadership is beginning to find its footing, there has been a flurry of emails and directives coming down to agency staff. There are critical democracy concerns with some of the calls seen at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation, Department of Health and Human Services to halt communication with the media, suspension of social media accounts at the Department of Interior, and hiring and grant and contract freezes at EPA.  Read more >

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