Part 7: Soil Association calls for British Food Journal to withdraw
misleading paper by Powell, Blaine, Morris and Wilson
Professor Chris Griffith
Editor of the British Food Journal
Head, Food Research and Consultancy Unit
University of Wales Institute
Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue
Cardiff CF5 2YB
4 September 2007
I have always found it incomprehensible that you failed to withdraw the paper by Powell, Blaine, Morris and Wilson [1] about consumers buying GM and non-GM maize in Canada, once you learnt that the research had been misleadingly reported. I know that at the time you published letters criticising and defending the research, and I have read that you published an 'editor's note' which said that "a common misconception is that science and research are about facts". I have to say I find that an extraordinary statement, if by it you mean to imply that it's perfectly acceptable for scientific papers that you publish to report as facts things that are not true. In this case, the inclusion of the signs referring to "wormy" and "quality" above the two samples of sweetcorn is so significant that omitting any reference to them in the paper not only means that the paper is no longer factually accurate, but that it is deliberately misleading.
I suppose you may have felt this extraordinarily unsavoury episode could be forgotten, but unfortunately one of the authors of the paper is now trying to suppress accurate reporting of what happened in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
It seems to me this is an inevitable consequence of your willingness, through your journal, to support this misleading paper. Will you now withdraw it?
Peter Melchett
Policy Director
The Soil Association
South Plaza, Marlborough Street,
Bristol BS1 3NX, UK
[1. Powell DA, Blaine K, Morris S and Wilson J. Agronomic and consumer considerations for Bt and conventional sweet-corn. British Food Journal 2003, 105 (10), 700-713]
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