M. V. Rao
India
Former vice chancellor, Acharya N. G. Ranga University, Hyderabad, India. Former consultant to the World Bank and a former director of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Makes exaggerated claims for the benefits of GM crops.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
C Kameswara Rao
India
Founder of the Bangalore-based Foundation for Biotechnology Awareness and Education (FBAE).
Profiles: Powerbase
Articles: Indian Biotech Industry Up Against the Wall
See also: S. Shantharam, Ron Herring
Ellen Raphael
UK
Assistant Director of Sense About Science (founded 2002) from 2003 until 2010. Became board member Sense About Science USA in 2016. Part of the LM group, as is Sense About Science director Tracey Brown. Both also previously worked for the PR firm Regester Larkin. Contributor to Spiked.
Profiles: Powerbase
Articles: Invasion of the Entryists
Strange Bedfellows
Links to: Sense About Science, Tracey Brown, Dick Taverne, LM group, Living Marxism, Science Media Centre, Spiked
Raum für Landwirtschaft
Germany
One of the fake farmer groups defending glyphosate set up by PR agencies working for Monsanto
Articles: Fake "Farmer Willi" part of an international fake parade
How lobbyists for Monsanto led a 'grassroots farmers' movement against an EU glyphosate ban
Faux groupes d'agriculteurs de Monsanto: les coulisses d'une manipulation
Links to: Red Flag Consulting, FleishmanHillard, Lincoln Strategy Group, Agriculture et Liberté, Free to Farm, Liberta di coltivare, Libertad para consultar, Rolnictwo Dobrej Praktyki, Vrijheid om te Boeren
Peter Raven
USA
President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden, which has taken money from Monsanto. Lobbies for GM crops.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: American Association for the Advancement of Science, Monsanto
Alan Raybould UK
Member of the UK's Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) until his death in October 2022. Raybould was a veteran of Syngenta, where his speciality was getting its GMOs approved and boosting their public "acceptance". On the editorial board of GM Crops & Food.
Articles: 100% of members of UK government's GMO advisory body ACRE have potential or actual conflicts of interest
Links to: Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), Syngenta, Jim Dunwell, Ben Raymond, Peter Lund, GM Crops & Food.
Ben Raymond UK
Member of the UK's Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE). Has current research funding from GMO and agrochemical giant Bayer Crop Science and a BBSRC industrial partnership award with Corteva Agriscience. Corteva dominates the CRISPR gene editing patent landscape.
Articles: 100% of members of UK government's GMO advisory body ACRE have potential or actual conflicts of interest
Links to: Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), Bayer, John Innes Centre, Syngenta, Alan Raybould, Jim Dunwell, Peter Lund
Chengal Reddy
India
President of the Federation of Farmers Associations. Has had a long association with Monsanto and lobbies for GM crops.
Profiles: Powerbase
Articles: The Fake Parade
See also: Federation of Farmers Associations, Monsanto
S. Jayapal Reddy
India
Member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of Farmers Associations and Secretary, Confederation of Kisan Organisations. In 2003, travelled to Europe as part of a 'Third World' GM lobby group, hosted by EuropaBio, which included Dr Luke Mumba from Zambia, TJ Buthelezi from South Africa and representatives of ISAAA and AfricaBio.
Profiles: Powerbase
Red Flag Consulting
Ireland
Dublin-based PR and lobbying firm that led the pro-glyphosate campaign by setting up fake grassroots farmer groups in "the eight most important EU countries." The campaign was run in tandem with a US consultancy, Lincoln Strategy. The firm was also accused in Le Monde of having breached French data privacy laws, along with other Monsanto PR agencies such as FleishmanHillard, Lincoln Strategy and FTI Consulting, during the EU glyphosate renewal campaign.
Articles: How lobbyists for Monsanto led a 'grassroots farmers' movement against an EU glyphosate ban
Fake "Farmer Willi" part of an international fake parade
PR company accused of using 'tobacco lobbyist tactics' to promote weedkiller linked to cancer
Faux groupes d'agriculteurs de Monsanto: les coulisses d'une manipulation
Links to: FleishmanHillard, Lincoln Strategy Group, Agriculture et Liberté, Free to Farm, Liberta di coltivare, Raum für Landwirtschaft, Libertad para consultar, Rolnictwo Dobrej Praktyki, Vrijheid om te Boeren
Regulatory Horizons Council UK
Five member UK government-appointed advisory body that is supposed to provide the government with "impartial, expert advice on the regulatory reform required to support (the) rapid and safe introduction" of innovative technologies. It has been pushing for GM deregulation.
Articles: Partners in crime: Owen Paterson and Matt Ridley. Or why you can't keep a bad man down
See also: Matt Ridley, Joyce Tait
RePlanet (known since January 2024 as WePlanet)
European Union
Ecomodernist campaign group with national offshoots (e.g. RePlanet UK, RePlanet Nederland, etc.), lobbying for nuclear power (Rethink Nuclear, What a Waste), GMOs (Give Genes a Chance) and synthetic food (Reboot Food), while attacking Greenpeace (Dear Greenpeace) and, more generally, EU regulations. Accused of having "all the hallmarks of a sophisticated astroturf organisation", it appears to be an attempt to rebrand ecomodernism to make it appear more of a grassroots citizens' movement than a lavishly funded industry-aligned campaign. Cofounded by Mark Lynas, who is also said to be "one of the driving forces" behind the organisation. Originally described itself as a "young European" network but since then a small number of offshoots have been set up outside Europe. This includes RePlanet Africa, whose cofounder and director, Patricia Nanteza, has been a close colleague of Lynas at the Alliance for Science, which is funded by the Gates Foundation to promote GMOs. Some RePlanet campaigning is clearly closely coordinated with the Alliance. RePlanet claims it has "not received any funding from industry" but at least 90% of its funding derives from investments that include such controversial areas as fossil fuels and the arms industry. RePlanet also sent delegates to both the UN's Cop27 and Cop28 climate conferences courtesy of nuclear industry lobbies.
Articles: George Monbiot's ally RePlanet accused of smelling "like astroturf"
George Monbiot teams up with Mark Lynas and the ecomodernists to Reboot Food
"Africa's first pro-GMO peoples' march" is classic astroturf
“Laureates’ letter” misled signatories about GMO regulation in Europe, has industry’s fingerprints all over it
See also: Mark Lynas, Hidde Boersma, Patricia Nanteza, RePlanet Africa, Alliance for Science, Gates Foundation
Resources for the Future
USA
Washington-based 'conservation' research organisation with funding from major US corporations.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: Leonard Gianessi, National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy
Viscount Matt Ridley
UK
Journalist and peer who has long attacked environmentalism, promoted GMOs and engaged in extreme climate scepticism. Advisor to his brother-in-law, the disgraced politician and former environment minister Owen Paterson, and to his think tank UK 2020. One of only five members of the government-appointed Regulatory Horizons Council. Served twice on the Lords' Science and Technology Committee. Member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture. Advisory Board member of lobby group Science for Sustainable Agriculture. Served on the advisory council of Sense About Science. Frequent contributor to Spiked.
Profiles: Powerbase and DeSmog
Articles: Partners in crime: Owen Paterson and Matt Ridley. Or why you can’t keep a bad man down
See also: Owen Paterson, Sense About Science, All-Party Parliamentary Group on Science and Technology in Agriculture, Regulatory Horizons Council, UK 2020, Science for Sustainable Agriculture, Breakthrough Institute, Spiked.
Sir Richard (Rich) Roberts UK
Chief scientific officer for New England Biolabs. Has helped organise letters in support of GM crops signed by large numbers of his fellow Nobel laureates. Claims opposing GM crops will starve millions and is a crime against humanity. Has worked closely with Monsanto's former Director of Corporate Communications, Jay Byrne, who now runs the biotech industry PR firm, v-Fluence.
Articles: How The #Nobels4gmos Campaign Is Rife With Biotech Industry Ties
I Was Barred from Nobel Laureate Press Conference by PR consultant with Monsanto ties
"Laureates' letter" Misled Signatories about GMO Regulation in Europe, Has Industry's Fingerprints All Over It
Pro-GMO Campaign Exploits Nobel Laureates
See also: Jay Byrne, v-Fluence, Jon Entine, Mark Lynas, L. Val Giddings, Genetic Literacy Project,
Vic Robertson
UK
Journalist who writes pro-GM and anti-organic articles for the Scottish press.
Profiles: Powerbase
Clare Robinson
UK
Former head of science communication at the John Innes Centre. Led projects promoting GM to schoolchildren.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: Gatsby Charitable Foundation, John Innes Centre, Lord David Sainsbury
William Rolleston
New Zealand
Chairman of the Life Sciences Network, a PR firm which lobbied for the acceptance of GM crops in New Zealand. Chairman, Federated Farmers of New Zealand.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: Communications Trumps, GenePool, Life Sciences Network, Norrey Simmons
Rolnictwo Dobrej Praktyki
Poland
One of the fake farmer groups defending glyphosate set up by PR agencies working for Monsanto.
Articles: Fake "Farmer Willi" part of an international fake parade
How lobbyists for Monsanto led a 'grassroots farmers' movement against an EU glyphosate ban
Faux groupes d'agriculteurs de Monsanto: les coulisses d'une manipulation
Links to: Red Flag Consulting, FleishmanHillard, Lincoln Strategy Group, Agriculture et Liberté, Free to Farm, Liberta di coltivare, Raum für Landwirtschaft, Libertad para consultar, Vrijheid om te Boeren
Pamela Ronald USA
Professor of plant pathology at the University of California, Davis, co-author of the book Tomorrow's Table, and a prominent champion of GMO foods. On the advisory board of the Cornell Alliance for Science, a Gates-backed PR campaign that promotes GMOs. Founding board member of Biofortified. Affiliated to the Breakthrough Institute. Has multiple ties to the agrichemical industry front group the Genetic Literacy Project and its executive director, Jon Entine. Appeared on tax forms as a board member of the Science Literacy Project - the parent organisation of the Genetic Literacy Project. Founding director of Institute for Food and Agricultural Literacy (IFAL) to train faculty and students at UC Davis to promote GMO crops and pesticides. Made Jon Entine a senior fellow of IFAL and an instructor and mentor in a UC Davis science communications graduate program. IFAL co-hosted the "Biotech Literacy Project boot camp" with the Genetic Literacy Project and the Monsanto-backed group Academics Review. Key note speakers included Ted Nordhaus of the Breakthrough Institute. Signatory of An Ecomodernist Manifesto. Receives speaker fees from the agrichemical industry. Was embroiled in a scientific scandal that forced her to retract two major articles in science journals. Featured prominently in the film Food Evolution.
Profiles: USRTK and Powerbase
Articles: Can the Scientific Reputation of Pamela Ronald Be Salvaged?
Union of Concerned Scientists' response to Pam Ronald attack
Union of Concerned Scientists respond again to Pam Ronald's attacks
See also: Jon Entine, Genetic Literacy Project, Biofortified, Anastasia Bodnar, Karl Haro von Mogel, Breakthrough Institute, Ted Nordhaus, Food Evolution
Rick Roush
USA
Director of the Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program at University of California, Davis. Pro-GM activist who was embroiled in a conflict-of-interest incident over a paper he published in the journal Science.
Profiles: Powerbase
Rothamsted Research
UK
Agricultural research institute (formerly known as the Institute of Arable Crops Research or IACR) that was part of the consortium that carried out the UK GM farm-scale trials. The institute and many of its scientists have links with industry.
Profiles: Powerbase
Articles: 'Science one, whining greenies nil', Smelling a corporate rat
See also: Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Alan Dewar, Nigel Halford, Peter Lutman, Mike May, Maurice Moloney, Guy Poppy, John Pickett, David Baulcombe
Royal Institution
UK
Headed for many years by Susan Greenfield. Originally housed the pro-GM and pro-industry lobby group, the Science Media Centre headed by Fiona Fox.
Profiles: Powerbase
Articles: An end to health scares?
Coincidence or Conspiracy?
See also: Fiona Fox, Susan Greenfield, Living Marxism, Science Media Centre
Royal Society
UK
Claims to be the world's oldest scientific organization. Traditionally received public funding, but now also receives funding from biotech corporations. Has lobbied for GM crops and its Fellows led the attacks on Arpad Pusztai after his research found ill effects of a GM food.
Profiles: Powerbase
Book chapter: The 'Star Chamber' (Chapter 6 of Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat, by Andy Rowell)
Articles: Strange Bedfellows, Pro-GM Food Scientist Threatened Editor
See also: Jonathan Jones, Brian Heap, Peter Lachmann, David Baulcombe, Aaron Klug, Ed Dart, Michael Lipton, Robert May, Sense About Science, Tony Trewavas, Mike Gale
Max Russell-Bennett
UK
An apparently imaginary citizen whose questioning email was sent out with an AgBioWorld press release falsely claiming that thousands had died in the Indian state of Orissa as a result of resistance to GM food aid. The email was traced to Monsanto Belgium.
Article: Fake Blood on the Maize
See also: AgBioView, AgBioWorld, Monsanto, Channapatna S. Prakash
Judith Rylott
UK
Married to Paul Rylott. Has worked for Aventis and Bayer.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: Aventis, Bayer, Paul Rylott
Paul Rylott
UK
Until spring 2004, chairman of the lobby group, the Agricultural Biotechnology Council (ABC), which was founded by the big GM companies. Previously worked for Aventis and Bayer and for the industry body SCIMAC. Married to Judith Rylott.
Profiles: Powerbase
See also: Aventis, BASF, Bayer, Dow, DuPont, Monsanto, Judith Rylott, Syngenta