Atrazine Exposed

Press Release

Syngenta Hired Guns Attack New Documentary

by PRW Staff — May 11, 2012 - 12:37pm
  • Topics: Agriculture, Atrazine Exposed, Corporations, Public Relations

    • For Immediate Release:

    May 11, 2012

    Contact: Paul Towers, Pesticide Action Network, 916-216-1082

    Syngenta Hired Guns Attack New Documentary

    PR firm and paid spokespeople mount aggressive response to new film "Last Call at the Oasis"

    San Francisco, CA -- As a new film highlights water contamination throughout the U.S. Midwest from Syngenta's flagship herbicide atrazine, the world's largest pesticide company has mounted a PR counter-attack downplaying the human and environmental health risks of a chemical linked to birth defects, low birth weight and certain cancers. Atrazine was banned in the EU in 2003, leaving the U.S. market as one of Syngenta's most profitable and vigorously guarded markets.

    News

    Syngenta Celebrates Earth Day by Ladling on the Pesticides

    by Rebekah Wilce — May 7, 2012 - 6:35am
  • Topics: Agriculture, Atrazine Exposed, Corporations, Science

    • Herbicide manufacturer Syngenta had an interesting way of celebrating Earth Day this year, touting the joys of pesticides.

    The multinational conglomerate sent out a press release during the approach to Earth Day exclaiming that "modern farming is grounds for Earth Day celebration" because, it continues, "conservation tillage and no-till farming are responsible for significant environmental benefits often overlooked by Earth Day observers." These "no-till" farming techniques, which reduce erosion and fuel use, depend "on the ability to control weeds, demonstrating the importance of the 50-year-old herbicide atrazine."

    News

    Atrazine and the Roots of ALEC's State Data Quality Act

    by Rebekah Wilce — March 9, 2012 - 8:30am
  • Topics: Agriculture, ALEC Exposed, Atrazine Exposed, Corporations, Health

    • The herbicide atrazine, one of the most heavily used herbicides in the United States has been found in almost 94 percent of U.S. groundwater and can harm human health in multiple ways. ALEC has promoted "model" legislation friendly to Syngenta, atrazine's primary manufacturer, across the country. At least once, this legislation was introduced to ALEC by a lobbyist paid by Syngenta.

    News

    Syngenta's Paid Third Party Pundits Spin the "News" on Atrazine

    by Sara Jerving — February 7, 2012 - 9:40am
  • Topics: Atrazine Exposed, Corporations, Environment, Health

    • Documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, recently unsealed as part of a major lawsuit against Syngenta, reveal that the global chemical company's PR team had a multi-million dollar budget to pay surrogates and others who helped advance its messages about the weed-killer "atrazine." This story is part two of a series about Syngenta's PR campaign to influence the media, potential jurors, potential plaintiffs, farmers, politicians, scientists, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the midst of reviews of the weed-killer's potential to act as an endocrine disruptor.

    These documents reveal a string of money going from Syngenta to pundits, economists, scientists, and others. Below is a sample of some of the "third party" surrogates who have been financially supported by Syngenta.

    ACSH's Elizabeth Whelan: "A Great Weapon"

    Elizabeth Whelan is founder and President of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH). ACSH is a network of scientists whose stated mission to "ensure that the coverage of health issues is based on scientific facts – not hyperbole, emotion and ideology." Whelan has used hyperbole to advance her agenda, for example, calling the New York Times reporting on atrazine "All the news that's fit to scare."

    Some of ACSH's published materials have a disclaimer saying it accepts corporate donations but it "does not accept support from individual corporations for specific research projects." Documents obtained by CMD show (PDF) that Syngenta has been a long-term financial supporter of ACSH and that in the midst of reports about spikes in atrazine levels reported by the New York Times, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, ACSH sought an additional $100,000 to produce more materials about atrazine in addition to seeking increased funding in general by Syngenta.

    News

    Atrazine: A "Molecular Bull in a China Shop"

    by Rebekah Wilce — February 7, 2012 - 9:36am
  • Topics: Agriculture, Atrazine Exposed, Corporations, Health

    • Atrazine is an herbicide primarily manufactured by the multinational conglomerate Syngenta and commonly used on commodity crops, forests, and golf courses. Its potential harmful effects on human health have been documented since the 1990s.

    As a consequence, atrazine has been "unauthorized" in the European Union since 2004 (and in some European countries since 1991). However, it is one of the most heavily used herbicides in the United States. Syngenta, atrazine’s primary manufacturer, has spent hundreds of millions combined on marketing, public relations (PR) campaigns, and lobbying to maintain its market and fight calls to phase the product out of use in the U.S.

    News

    Syngenta PR’s Weed-Killer Spin Machine: Investigating the Press and Shaping the "News" about Atrazine

    by PRW Staff — February 7, 2012 - 9:33am
  • Topics: Journalism, Atrazine Exposed, Corporations, Public Relations

    • - By Beau Hodai and Lisa Graves

    Documents obtained by the Center for Media and Democracy, recently unsealed as part of a major lawsuit against Syngenta, reveal how the global chemical company's PR team investigated the press and spent millions to spin news coverage and public perceptions in the face of growing concerns about potential health risks from the widely used weed-killer "atrazine."

    This story is part of a new series about this PR campaign to influence the media, potential jurors, potential plaintiffs, farmers, politicians, scientists, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the midst of reviews of the weed-killer's potential to act as an endocrine disruptor, over the past decade or so.

    Dealing with Meddlesome Reporters

    Two years ago, on March 2, 2010, Huffington Post Investigative Fund (HuffPo) reporter Danielle Ivory contacted Syngenta Corporation Director of Corporate Communications-North America Paul Minehart and asked, as reporters do, a few questions.

    Little did she know her questions to Syngenta—which reported sales of over $11 billion that year, almost half of which, $5 billion, was profit—would provoke the creation of a secret dossier on her.

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