Lord Dick Taverne
UK
British politician with a background in PR, including promoting the interests of the tobacco industry, who lobbies for GM crops. Founded and chaired Sense About Science (until 2012). Also involved in setting up the Science Media Centre and served on its advisory board. Member of the industry-backed All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, which also lobbies for GM crops.
Profiles: Powerbase
Article: Seeding Doubt: How Self-Appointed Guardians of “Sound Science” Tip the Scales Toward Industry
See also: Science Media Centre, Sense About Science, Tracey Brown, LM group, Lord David Sainsbury
Michael Taylor
USA
Returned as food czar at the FDA (2010 to 2016), formerly employee of Monsanto where he was Vice President for Public Policy. Concerns raised about his possible role in the approval of Monsanto's GM growth hormone and in the FDA's formulation of its controversial doctrine of substantial equivalence.
Profiles: Powerbase
Article: Monsanto's Man Taylor Returns to FDA as food czar
Jennifer Thomson
South Africa
Scientist who sits on the board of industry lobby groups AfricaBio and ISAAA. Was chair of SAGENE, South Africa's GM regulator.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: AfricaBio, ISAAA, Muffy Koch, South African Committee on Genetic Experimentation (SAGENE)
Tomorrow's Bounty
USA
PR campaign promoting GM crops launched by the Agriculture Commodity Coalition and funded by the Council for Biotechnology Information.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: Agriculture Commodity Coalition, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association, Council for Biotechnology Information, National Corn Growers Association, Kimball Nill
Tony Trewavas
UK
GM scientist notorious for his extreme support for GM foods and antipathy to organic farming. Served on the Governing Council of the John Innes Centre and as an advisor to Sense About Science and the Scientific Alliance. Heavily involved in the attacks on the research of Ignacio Chapela and Gilles-Éric Séralini.
Profiles: Powerbase
Articles: Greenpeace wins damages over professor's 'unfounded' allegations
Smelling a corporate rat
Prof Trewavas requires a health warning
See also: Royal Society, Scientific Alliance, Sense About Science, John Innes Centre, C.S. Prakash, Andura Smetacek
David Tribe
Australia
Co-founder of Academics Review and a director of Biofortified. Has promoted GM crops from the platform of the pro-corporate think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs.
Profiles: Powerbase
Article: Academics Review: The Making of a Monsanto Front Group
See also: Bruce Chassy, Academics Review, C.S. Prakash, Biofortified, Anastasia Bodnar, Karl Haro von Mogel, Klaus Ammann, Institute of Public Affairs,
Truth about Trade and Technology (rebranded as Global Farmer Network since 2016)
USA
Described itself as a grassroots farm organization and lobbied for free trade and GM crops. Chaired by Dean Kleckner, who was formerly president of the Iowa Farm Bureau and then led the American Farm Bureau Federation. Kleckner died in 2015 and a year later the organization rebranded as the Global Farmer Network.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: American Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Farm Bureau, Dean Kleckner
Tech Central Station
USA
Pro-free market website hosted by James Glassman, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and syndicated columnist for Scripps Howard News Service.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: American Enterprise Institute, James Glassman