| Michael Fumento |
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Fumento argues that many reports of threats to society are based on bad science and egregiously misused statistics. A common theme is his claim that many liberal environmental groups have a hysterical response to most man-made chemicals. He writes that naturally occurring food chemicals are often every bit as toxic as artificial compounds, and there is no scientific reason to view natural compounds as inherently safer. Environmental groups, he holds, will willingly accept claims that man-made compounds cause cancer, but gloss over the fact that the toxicity tests often involve quantities millions of times larger than any human being would ever ingest. Several of his articles deal with the agricultural chemical Alar , banned as a Carcinogen in the United States; Fumento notes that the dosages in one Alar study were the equivalent of almost 30 thousand apples a day for life {Link without Title} . In his view, it is impossible to test megadoses of chemicals on mice or rats and extrapolate the results to conclusions about small doses on humans. Fumento's critics counter that such extrapolation is well supported by existing evidence, and the only practical testing method for many toxic chemicals. Researchers remain divided on the utility of such tests and on the safety of Alar in particular. Fumento describes himself as a political conservative. {Link without Title} He has drawn criticism from liberal groups for his views on Gulf War Syndrome , and for his 1990s writings which stated that the threat of AIDS to the heterosexual population was greatly overstated. He promotes a position of " Skepticism " towards claims that man-made chemicals cause cancer in humans. However, Fumento has also been outspoken in his support of adult Stem Cell research and hydrogen Fuel Cell technology. MONSANTO CONTROVERSY On January 13, 2006, Scripps Howard News Service announced it would terminate its business relationship with Fumento and cease carrying his column. At issue were opinion columns Fumento had written promoting the biotechnology firm Monsanto while working at the Hudson Institute . General manager Peter Copeland explained that {Link without Title} : {Link without Title} did not tell SHNS editors, and therefore we did not tell our readers, that in 1999 Hudson received a $60,000 grant from Monsanto...Our policy is that he should have disclosed that information. We apologize to our readers. The connection between Fumento and grant to Hudson {Link without Title} : It was a $60,000 book grant to my employer, solicited back in 1999, which was applied to pre-established salary and benefits.However, Fumento argued that because the grant was to his employer, rather than to him personally, he was being unfairly targeted with made-up ethics rules by Javers {Link without Title} : Javers then took it upon himself to establish, right then, a completely new set of rules regarding columnists disclosure of the receipt of corporate money. All previous standards were null and void. AFFILIATIONS Fumento has been affiliated with the following organizations: SEE ALSO BOOKS
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