USDA Rejects Scientist's Claim It Tried To Hide His Pesticide Research

"Nonprofit released confidential decision in complex case involving monarch butterflies, scientific freedom and the safety of the nation’s food supply"

"Federal officials have rejected a complaint by an entomologist who charged that the government has tried to suppress negative research findings about a widely used pesticide, in a complex case involving monarch butterflies, scientific freedom and the safety of the nation’s food supply.

The confidential decision by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was disclosed Monday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer), a nonprofit group that offers aid and advice to whistleblowers and scientists.

Jonathan Lundgren, a senior research entomologist for the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, has been studying the effect of neonicotinoids, which he described as among the most widely used pesticides in the world today."

Maria L La Ganga reports for the Guardian February 29, 2016.