This letter in Nature 432, 15 (November 4, 2004) was a response to one from Consumers Union employees that criticized a symposium on organic foods organized by ACSH Advisor and Rutgers professor Joseph Rosen. ACSH Nutrition Director Dr. Ruth Kava was one of the presenters at the symposium. As usual, the critics couldn't fault the science, so they attacked ACSH's funding.
Industry Funding Doesn't Influence Our Reports
Sir--
U. Rangan and J. Shecter of Consumers Union, in Correspondence (Nature 431, 505; 2004), comment on our industry funding. Members of our Scientific Advisory Panel, which at present consists of more than 350 leading scientists and physicians, independently review all our scientific publications. These reviewers, of whom Joseph Rosen is one, serve on our advisory board and critique our work without compensation, just as reviewers of publications such as Nature do. We have never allowed, and will never allow, a funding body to influence our scientific positions. Interested parties can access our publications at http://www.acsh.org.
Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D.
American Council on Science and Health
1995 Broadway, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10023-5860
USA