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Title
To Richard Jennings at the University of Cambridge regarding his review of a book in which he discusses 'the Puszatai affair"
Reference
MS/2152/02/05
Production date
26-10-2006 - 26-10-2006

Creator

Trewavas, Anthony J Biography Biography
(b. 1939) Professor in Plant Biochemistry Trewavas obtained both his undergraduate degree and Ph.D in Biochemistry at University College London investigating aspects of phosphate metabolism of plants before continuing to complete his postdoctoral research at University of East Anglia. In the early 1970s he was invited to be first Visiting Professor at the Plant Research laboratory in Michigan State University following which he visited many universities across America and Europe before being announced as Professor Emeritus in the University of Edinburgh in 2004. Trewavas' research on plant genetic engineering was at the forefront of the media in the 1990s due to his creation of a light producing plant. Trewavas was also very vocal during the GM crop debates particularly about organic crops versus genetically modified crops. It was his view that organic plants were much worse than GM plants and In October 2001 was named in the High Court in London as the source of a letter making libellous allegations against Lord Melchett and Greenpeace. In response to this publicity he wrote in letters that he denies responsibility for the libel letter published under his name.

Scope and Content
In 1998 a controversy occurred later named 'The Pusztai affair' wherein Protein scientist Árpád Pusztai went public with the initial results of unpublished research he was conducting at the Rowett Institute. He was investigating the possible effects of genetically modified potatoes upon rats and claimed that the GM potatoes stunted the growth and repressed the rats' immune systems while thickening their gut mucosa. Initially Rowett Institute supported his comments but once he appeared on a British television programme and caused controversy across the UK, the Rowett Institute withdrew its support and his contract was not renewed by the research centre. Pusztai was thereby suspended and misconduct procedures were used to seize his data and ban him from speaking publicly. Pusztai was criticized by the British Royal Society along with other scientists for making an announcement before his experiment was complete or peer-reviewed, even criticising the experiment's design, methodology and analysis. Some of his data from the experiments were published in 1999 in The Lancet, however, only five out of six peer reviewers approved of the study when it was published and this cause further controversy.
Extent
1 item
Language
English
Level of description
ITEM
Repository name
Science Museum, London

Associated people and organisations

Pusztai, Árpád Biography Biography
(08/09/1930) Biochemist and Nutritionist Árpád János Pusztai was born in Budapest, he obtained a diploma in chemistry in 1953 from the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. He worked for three years as an associate scientist at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences before the Hungarian revolution against Soviet control in 1956. After the failed revolution Árpád Pusztai escaped to a refugee camp in Austria and from there made his way to England. He completed his doctorate in biochemistry at the Lister Institute in London and continued there with his post-doctorate. In 1963 he was invited to join the Protein Research Department at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland. Pusztai worked at the Rowett Institute for the next 36 years, predominately studying plant lectins. In 1995 Árpád Pusztai began research on genetically modified potatoes containing the GNA lectin gene from the snowdrop plant. His group fed rats on raw and cooked genetically modified potatoes, using Desiree Red potatoes as controls. In 1998 Árpád Pusztai said in an interview on a World in Action programme that his group had observed damage to the intestines and immune systems of rats fed the genetically modified potatoes. He also said, "If I had the choice I would certainly not eat it," and that, "I find it's very unfair to use our fellow citizens as guinea pigs." This resulted in a media frenzy, and Rowett Institute's director Philip James, after initially supporting Pusztai, suspended him and banned both Pusztai and Susan Bardocz from speaking publicly. He also used misconduct procedures to seize the raw data. The Rowett Institute eventually published an audit criticizing Pusztai's results.
Rowett Research Institute

Subject
GM crops
Conditions governing access
Open Access
Conditions governing Reproduction
Copies may be supplied in accordance with current copyright legislation and Science Museum Group terms and conditions
Finding aids
Box 1