CFACT Senior Policy Advisor Paul Driessen spoke July 20 at the Doctors for Disaster Preparedness 37th Annual Meeting in Tucson, AZ. He explained how mass tort lawyers and anti-chemical activists have teamed up with a small group of scientists to use fraudulent scientific and courtroom tactics to reap enormous damage awards for themselves and people who claim glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, caused their cancer. He noted that more than 3,000 studies in dozens of countries have concluded that glyphosate does not cause cancer, finding in fact that its toxicity is comparable to that of table salt and chocolate.
Only one study has reached the opposite conclusion, but that is the one being used to drive the lawsuits.
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Driessen described the deceptive practices behind that study and how it is being used in a carefully coordinated campaign of lawsuits and media stories. Incredibly, he said, judges have excluded evidence and testimony exonerating glyphosate and let bad science and emotions determine literally billion-dollar jury awards – and in the process likely destroy companies, products, and no-till and conventional farming practices.
The impressive lineup of DDP speakers also included Greenpeace cofounder Dr. Patrick Moore, who discussed twelve fake ecological catastrophes that have been used to drive public fears and policies. California rancher Debbie Bacigalupi addressed the UN’s sustainability agenda; Drs. James Enstrom, Robert Phalen and David Randall spoke about junk science in air pollution and other regulatory programs; Dr. Willie Soon revealed a number of Greenpeace dirty tricks; Steven Hatfill, MD explained how Mad Cow Disease could still pose a public health threat today; and other experts delved deeply into additional health, environmental, scientific, social and regulatory issues.
DDP attendees also visited Pima Air & Space Museum, the “Boneyard” aircraft maintenance and storage facility, and the Richard F. Carliss mirror and optics laboratory at the University of Arizona. Driessen is expected to speak at next year’s DDP meeting in Las Vegas.