Dr. Tyrone Hayes, a faculty member at the University of California, Berkeley, has subjected employees of Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc. to numerous harassing emails. These emails have not only been aggressive, unprofessional, and insulting, but also salacious and lewd.
Syngenta values constructive dialogue with stakeholders and respects differing opinions. However, the Feb. 21st, 2014 Democracy Now report contained statements by Dr. Hayes that are completely false, without merit and harmful to the reputation of both the company and our employees.
In the course of The New Yorker magazine’s preparation of an article on Syngenta and the U.S. regulatory process, we provided important input and corrections of fact to both its staff writer and fact checker. Unfortunately, the magazine chose to ignore much of this information and gloss over key points, in order to present a highly slanted and false narrative to its readers.
It’s unfortunate and surprising that The New Yorker story criticizes a requirement that regulatory decisions “rely on studies that meet high standards for ‘quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity.’” We support sound science and hope that U.S. policy continues to be based on well-tested, solid research.
