People protesting Genetically Engineered Trees in front of the IUFRO conference. Photo: Langelle
The Cornell Alliance for Science (CAS), funded by the Gates Foundation, promotes agribusiness and crop biotechnology, including genetically engineered (GE or genetically modified) trees. CAS spreads propaganda promoting GE trees under the guise of “sustainable forest management,” in an attempt to conceal their calls to control and commodify the living world. In 2019, CAS propagated a petition calling on international forest certification programs to include GE trees in their sustainability policies, including the GE American chestnut tree. Researchers are preparing to request approval to release GE American chestnut trees, which they claim are tolerant to the blight that drove the tree to near extinction. The proposal is to plant the GE trees in our forests, to spread freely in the wild. The stated aim of the project is to use the GE tree to “restore” the species, however, this large-scale and potentially irreversible experiment could have unforeseeable consequences for forest ecosystems. For more information visit: https://stopgetrees.org/take-action/
Theresa Church, Assistant Director of Global Justice Ecology Project & GE Trees Campaigner
Messengers of Gates’ Agenda-A Case Study of the Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows Program
The AGRA Watch program of Community Alliance for Global Justice is pleased to present a new report, “Messengers of Gates’ Agenda: A Case Study of the Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows Program”. The study exposes how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation uses the cover of an institution of higher education to spread its propaganda favoring industrial agriculture, GMOs, and the global food marketplace.
AGRA Watch examines a lesser-known aspect of BMGF’s overall strategy: framing the debates on food and agriculture policies and shaping how such issues are communicated. The Cornell Alliance for Science (CAS), funded by the Gates Foundation, uses its affiliation with Cornell University to claim scientific neutrality while assiduously promoting communications aligned with agribusiness through its use of Fellows, especially those from Africa. The report dissects the strategies of the CAS Fellows to discredit agroecology, and how the Gates Foundation fosters a new generation of leadership to carry forward its ideology and mission.
In taking a deeper look at the CAS Fellowship Program and the types of messaging it propagates, AGRA Watch exposes the pernicious methods used by the Gates Foundation to influence the communications, narratives and policies regarding agricultural development in Africa and beyond. A Case Study in this report indicates with specificity how these factors operate, and can serve as a model for investigating how other Fellows are propagating the Gates agenda after leaving Cornell and occupying prominent positions in their native countries.
Read the report:
Messengers of Gates’ Agenda-A Case Study of the Cornell Alliance for Science Global Leadership Fellows Program PDF: 34 pages
Lire le rapport en français: L’Agenda des Messagers de Gates-Une étude de cas du « Programme de Leadership Mondial » de
la Cornell Alliance for Science PDF: 36 pages