Taylor advised Monsanto not to fight labeling
April 18, 2013 | 06:20 PM
Mike Taylor, the FDA deputy commissioner for food whose credibility has often been questioned because he worked for Monsanto in the late 1990s, confirmed this week that he advised Monsanto to drop its opposition to the labeling of biotech foods and left the company because the company did not listen to him.
Taylor’s revelation that he had advised Monsanto to address its critics in a more respectful and transparent way first surfaced in a March 25 blog post by food safety lawyer Bill Marler at the annual meeting of the Association of Health Care Journalists in Boston.
Marler wrote that Taylor made the statements in response to a question at the conference and also noted that Taylor has recused himself from policymaking on biotechnology.
Marler observed that Taylor has often been vilified for his association with Monsanto, but never before revealed that he had offered advice that the company would not take.
At the Consumer Federation of America National Food Policy Conference on Monday, Taylor told The Hagstrom Report that Marler had reported the event accurately. Asked about his current views, he repeated that he has recused himself from policymaking on biotechnology, but stands by his writing over the years that consumers should have choices.
“I have not said anything terribly revolutionary about choice,” he added.
Asked about “ag gag” laws that would make it illegal in some states for farm operations to be filmed without the farmer's permission, Taylor said that he would leave to others the question of whether these laws would “criminalize” First Amendment activities and that “individual state activities are beyond my scope,” but that media reports are one of the ways FDA learns what is going on around the country.
