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American Council on Science and Health

American Council on Science and Health (ACSH)

Background

ACSH is a New-York-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1978 by Dr. Elizabeth Whelan and Frederick J. Stare. ACSH describes itself as an “education consortium” founded by a group of scientists “who had become concerned that many important public policies related to health and the environment did not have a sound scientific basis.”1 “About the American Council on Science and Health,” ACSH. Archived February 11, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fE87U5Ej 2 “ACSH challenges animal tests as cancer indicator in humans,” ACSH, April 11, 2005. Archived February 11, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fE7oJK3t

ACSH‘s mission is to “ensure that peer-reviewed mainstream science reaches the public, the media, and the decision-makers who determine public policy […]”3 “About the American Council on Science and Health,” ACSH. Archived February 11, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fE87U5Ej

Although it has taken a position against the dangers of tobacco, describing itself as having advocated for smoking cessation, ACSH has taken an apologetic stance towards most health and environmental products produced by major industries. (See some examples of recent ACSH publications). The Council has received funding from numerous corporations including ExxonMobil, Coca-Cola, Kellogg, General Mills, Pepsico, and the American Beverage Association.4 “Publications,” ACSH. Archived February 1, 2016.

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader once described ACSH as “a consumer front organization for its business backers. It has seized the language and style of the existing consumer organizations, but its real purpose, you might say, is to glove the hand that feeds it.”5 Mark Megalli, Andy Friedman. Masks of Deception: Corporate Front Groups in America. (Essential Information), 1991, p. 23.

According to analysis by PR Watch, “Although the American Council on Science and Health styles itself as a ‘scientific’ organization, it does not carry out any independent primary research. Instead, it specializes in generating media advisories that criticize or praise scientists depending on whether they agree with ACSH‘s philosophy. It has mastered the modern media sound byte, issuing a regular stream of news releases with catchy, quotable phrases responding to hot-button environmental issues.”6 “ACSH Fears Nothing but Fear Itself” (PDF), PR Watch, Fourth Quarter 1998, Volume 5, No. 4. Archived February 11, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

Dr. Gilbert Ross & Racketeering

Dr. Gilbert Ross, ACSH‘s Senior Director of Medicine and Public Health, was “convicted of racketeering, mail fraud and conspiracy,” and was “sentenced to 47 months in jail, $40,000 in forfeiture and restitution of $612,855” for defrauding the Medicaid system, reports United Press International.7 “Meet the Team,” ACSH. Archived February 16, 2016. WebCite URL: www.webcitation.org/6fLnk4CoY 8 “RE: In the Matter of Gilbert Ross, M.D.” (PDF – Mail Correspondence), State of New York Department of Health, March 1, 1995. Archived February 19, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.  9 Martin Donohoe. “Corporate front groups and the abuse of science: The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH),” Spinwatch, June 25, 2010. Archived February 19, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fQH0Mtd3

A judge who sustained the exclusion of Dr. Ross from Medicaid for ten years found Dr. Ross to be a “highly untrustworthy individual.”10 “Department of Health and Human Services, Departmental Appeals Board, Civil Remedies Division, In the Cases of Gilbert Ross, M.D. and Deborah Williams M.D., Petitioners, v. The Inspector General” (PDF), June 16, 1997. Docket Nos. C-94-368 and C-94-369. Decision No. CR478. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Archived February 19, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

Stance on Climate Change

October 1, 1997

“[I]f global climate change occurs as gradually as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted, policymakers can safely take several decades to plan a response, and scientists will have enough time to develop cost-effective and anti-climate-change strategies. Implementation of current proposals for mitigation measures–measures to stabilize the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere–would be both costly and ineffective.”11 “Global Climate Change and Human Health” (PDF)

January 1, 1998

“[T]here is no scientific consensus concerning global warming. The climate change predictions are based on computer models that have not been validated and are far from perfect.”12 Elizabeth Whelan. “’Global Warming’’Not Health Threat,” PRI Review, January 1, 1998. Archived February 22, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fUx205XG

ACSH on Chemicals, DDT, Heavy Metals & Pesticides

February, 2016

“Although this is obviously not a comprehensive report, it is safe to say that DDT’s reputation as a deadly poison is not based on real evidence. In fact, it’s the opposite.”13 Josh Bloom. “How Poisonous is DDT?” ACSH, February 11, 2016. Archived February 11, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fE9r5GSK

February 2013

“There is no evidence that BPA [bisphenol A] in consumer products of any type, including cash register receipts, are harmful to health.”14 “The Top 10 Unfounded Health Scares of 2012,” American Council on Science and Health, February 22, 2013. Archived February 22, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fUyCeSo9

December 2010

Exposure to mercury “in conventional seafood causes no harm in humans.”15 “The Top 10 Unfounded Health Scares of 2012,” American Council on Science and Health, February 22, 2013. Archived February 22, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fUyCeSo9

November 2001

“The scientific evidence is clear. There has never been a case of ill health linked to the regulated, approved use of pesticides in this country.”16 “TASSC: The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition,” p. 9. Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, University of California, San Francisco. November 21, 2001. Bates No. 2048294227-2048294237. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. 

ACSH on Fracking

June 2016

“Fracking doesn’t pollute water or the air. There have been zero confirmed occurrences of ground water contamination from more than one million wells accessed in the last 50 years,” said past ACSH president Dr. Elizabeth Whelan. “And unlike coal or oil, natural gas obtained from fracking produces almost no smog or asthma-causing particulates. That is helping lower the disturbingly high asthma rates among children in the U.S.”17 “FRACKING: A SAFE AND EFFICIENT PATH TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE,” ACSH, June 13, 2014. Archived June 19, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fE9gpS26

April 2013

Fracking “doesn’t pollute water or air.”18 Elizabeth Whelan. “Fracking Doesn’t Pose Health Risks,” The Daily Caller, April 29, 2013. Archived February 22, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fUxJWJRI

ACSH on Secondhand Smoke (2012)

December 2012

“There is no evidence that exposure to secondhand smoke involves heart attacks or cardiac arrest.”19 Richard Craver. “The Effects of the Smoking Ban,” Winston-Salem Journal, December 12, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fUxTn9X0 

Funding

ACSH displays the following statement on funding on their website:

“ACSH accepts unrestricted grants and donations on the condition that it is solely responsible for the conduct of its research and the dissemination of its work to the public. The organization does not perform proprietary research, nor does it accept support from individuals or individual corporations for specific research projects.”20 “Fund the Facts: How you can support science and health research,” ACSH. Archived February 12, 2016. WebCite URL:  http://www.webcitation.org/6fERHSI9D

According to an archive of their website (as of 2012), ACSH received financial support “from about 300 different sources, including foundations, trade associations, corporations and individuals.”21 “FAQ,” American Council on Science and Health. Archived February 3, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

In 2013, the investigative news magazine Mother Jones released leaked documents on ACSH funding that found “ACSH depends heavily on funding from corporations that have a financial stake in the scientific debates it aims to shape” including major corporations and the tobacco Industry (original documents available here):22 Andy Kroll and Jeremy Schulman. “Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group,” Mother Jones, October 28, 2013. Archived February 19, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fQHkTb6z 23 “American Council on Science and Health Financial Summary,” Mother Jones. Archived .pdf documents on file at DeSmogBlog.

  • “According to the ACSH documents, from July 1, 2012, to December 20, 2012, 58 percent of donations to the council came from corporations and large private foundations. ACSH‘s donors and the potential backers the group has been targeting comprise a who’s-who of energy, agriculture, cosmetics, food, soda, chemical, pharmaceutical, and tobacco corporations. ACSH donors in the second half of 2012 included Chevron ($18,500), Coca-Cola ($50,000), the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation ($15,000), Dr. Pepper/Snapple ($5,000), Bayer Cropscience ($30,000), Procter and Gamble ($6,000), agribusiness giant Syngenta ($22,500), 3M ($30,000), McDonald’s ($30,000), and tobacco conglomerate Altria ($25,000). Among the corporations and foundations that ACSH has pursued for financial support since July 2012 are Pepsi, Monsanto, British American Tobacco, DowAgro, ExxonMobil Foundation, Phillip Morris International, Reynolds American, the Koch family-controlled Claude R. Lambe Foundation, the Dow-linked Gerstacker Foundation, the Bradley Foundation, and the Searle Freedom Trust.”24 Andy Kroll and Jeremy Schulman. “Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group,” Mother Jones, October 28, 2013. Archived February 19, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fQHkTb6z
  • “ACSH planned to receive a total of $338,200 from tobacco companies between July 2012 and June 2013. Reynolds American and Phillip Morris International were each listed as expected to give $100,000 in 2013, which would make them the two largest individual donations listed in the ACSH documents.”25 Andy Kroll and Jeremy Schulman. “Leaked Documents Reveal the Secret Finances of a Pro-Industry Science Group,” Mother Jones, October 28, 2013. Archived February 19, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fQHkTb6z

SourceWatch reports that ACSH stopped recording their funding sources early in the 1990s.  The following values are based the Conservative Transparency Project as well as from publicly available 990 forms.26 “American Council on Science and Health,” SourceWatch. Accessed February 11, 2016. 27 “American Council on Science and Health,” Conservative Transparency. Data retrieved June 29, 2016.

See the attached spreadsheet for details on ACSH funding by year (.xlsx).

DonorTotal
John M. Olin Foundation$915,500
F.M. Kirby Foundation$672,000
ExxonMobil Foundation$665,000
DonorsTrust$600,274
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation$300,000
Sarah Scaife Foundation$280,000
Earhart Foundation$212,000
Exxon Mobil$140,000
PhRMA$100,000
Searle Freedom Trust$100,000
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation$95,000
Donors Capital Fund$89,500
The Randolph Foundation$73,920
Dodge Jones Foundation$67,500
Schwab Charitable Fund$45,500
American Petroleum Institute$37,500
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation$27,500
Legett Foundation$25,500
Kickapoo Springs Foundation$24,000
Armstrong Foundation$15,000
JM Foundation$15,000
David H. Koch Charitable Foundation$6,000
The Opportunity Foundation$5,500
Gilder Foundation$5,000
Tepper Family Foundation$2,050
Eric Javits Family Foundation$1,500
John William Pope Foundation$1,000
National Philanthropic Trust$1,000
Grand Total$4,522,744

Koch Funding

ACSH received at least $101,000 in combined donations from Koch-related foundations between 1986 and 2009.  Note that values prior to 2000 were not available for verification.28 “American Council on Science and Health (ACSH): Koch Industries Climate Denial Front Group,” Greenpeace USA. Archived March 14, 2017. Archive.is URL: https://archive.is/7gCEd

YearClaude R. Lambe Charitable FoundationDavid H. Koch Charitable FoundationGrand Total
1986 $5,000$5,000
1987 $1,000$1,000
2005$45,000 $45,000
2006$30,000 $30,000
2008$50,000 $50,000
2009-$30,000 $-30,000
Grand Total$95,000$6,000$101,000

Exxon Funding

According to ExxonSecrets, ACSH has received $165,000 from ExxonMobil since 1998.29 ExxonSecrets Factsheet: American Council on Science and Health.

Early Funders (1984)

ACSH‘s early corporate supporters included the following:[26]

ALCOA FoundationKraft General Foods (now part of Altria Group)
Allied Signals Foundation, Inc.Licensed Beverage Information Council
American Cyanamid CompanyThomas J. Lipton Foundation, Inc.
American Meat InstituteM&M Mars
Amoco Foundation, Inc.Merck Company Foundation
Anheuser-Busch FoundationMobil Foundation, Inc.
Archer Daniels Midland CompanyMonsanto Fund
Ashland Oil FoundationNational Agricultural Chemicals Association
Boise Cascade CorporationNational Dairy Council
Bristol-Myers Fund, Inc.National Soft Drink Association
Burger King CorporationNational Starch and Chemical Foundation
Campbell Soup CompanyNestlé
Carnation CompanySamuel Roberts Nobel Foundation, Inc.
Chevron Environmental Health CenterNorthwood Institute
Ciba-Geigy CorporationNutraSweet Company
Coca-Cola CompanyJohn M. Olin Foundation Inc.
Consolidated EdisonOscar Mayer Foods
Cooper Industries FoundationPepsico Foundation Inc. (Pepsi-Cola)
Adolph Coors FoundationPfizer Inc.
Crystal TrustPillsbury Company
Shelby Cullum Davis FoundationPPG Industries Foundation
Dow Chemical Canada, Inc.Procter & Gamble Fund
Dow Corning CorporationRalston Purina
E.I. Du Pont de Nemours & CompanyRohm & Haas Company
Ethyl CorporationSalt Institute
Exxon CorporationSarah Scaife Foundation, Inc.
FMC FoundationSchultz Foundation
Ford Motor Company FundG.D. Searle Charitable Trust
Frito-LayJoseph E. Seagrams & Sons, Inc.
General Electric FoundationShell Oil Company Foundation
General Mills, Inc.Stare Fund
General Motors FoundationStarr Foundation
Gerber Products CompanySterling Drug, Inc.
Rollin M. Gerstacker FoundationStouffer Company
Hershey Foods Corporation FundStroh Brewery Company
Heublein, Inc.Sugar Association, Inc.
ICI Americas Inc.Sun Company, Inc.
Johnson & JohnsonSyntex Corporation
Johnson’s Wax Fund, Inc.Union Carbide Corporation
Kellogg CompanyUniroyal Chemical Co.
Ester A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund, Inc.USX Corp.
David H. Koch Charitable FoundationWarner-Lambert Foundation
Kraft FoundationWine Growers of California

990 Forms

Annual Reports

Key People

Board of Trustees (2016)

As of February 2016, ACSH listed the following people on their “Board of Trustees”:30 “Meet the Team,” ACSH. Archived February 16, 2016. WebCite URL: www.webcitation.org/6fLnk4CoY

  • Nigel Bark (Chairman)
  • Steven Modzelewski (Vice Chairman)
  • James E. Enstrom
  • Jack C. Fisher
  • Thom Golab
  • Herbert I. London
  • Fred L. Smith Jr.
  • Daniel T. Stein
  • Stephen T. Whelan

Staff (2016)

As of February 2016, ACSH listed the following staff members on their website:31 “Meet the Team,” ACSH. Archived February 16, 2016. WebCite URL: www.webcitation.org/6fLnk4CoY

  • Cheryl E. Martin — Director of Development
  • Jonathan (Josh) Bloom — Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Lila Abassi — Director of Medicine
  • Hank Campbell — President
  • Ruth Kava — Senior Nutrition Fellow
  • Gilbert Ross — Senior Director of Medicine and Public Health
  • Erik Lief (Media Contact) — Communications
  • Ana Marcelo (Media Contact) — Executive Assistant to the President

Founders Circle

As of February 2016, ACSH listed the following individuals in their “Founders Circle:32 “Meet the Team,” ACSH. Archived February 16, 2016. WebCite URL: www.webcitation.org/6fLnk4CoY

  • Elizabeth M. Whelan (1943 – 2014)— Founder of the American Council on Science and Health
  • Fredrick J. Stare (1910 – 2002) — Founder, Harvard Department of Nutrition
  • Norman E. Borlaug (1914 – 2009) — Father of the “Green Revolution,” Nobel Laureate

Past Staff (2011)

As of December 2011, the following additional staff were also listed on the ACSH Website:33 “ACSH Staff,” American Council on Science and Health. Archived November 15, 2011. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

  • Judith A. D’Agostino — Executive Assistant to the President.
  • Margareta Becker — Accountant.
  • Jody Manley — Director of Development and Media.
  • William McCain — Development Assistant.
  • Alyssa Pelish — Director of Publications.
  • Lana Spivak — Director of Public Health.

Past Scientific Advisors (2011)

As of December 2011, the following Scientific Advisors were also listed on the ACSH Website:34 “Scientific Advisors,” American Council on Science and Health. Archived November 9, 2011. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

Other People (2011)

Actions

February 2016

The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) advocates for the use of DDT as a solution to the outbreak of the Zika virus:

“Perhaps there is one legitimate solution: DDT. While it is not perfect (some resistance to the chemical may have emerged in the past), it may represent the best chance to hold this epidemic at least partly in check,” writes ACSH‘s Senior Director of Medicine and Health, Gilbert Ross.37 Gilbert Ross. “Stopping Zika Virus in Its Tracks, by Unleashing DDT,” American Council on Science and Health, February 2, 2016. Archived February 19, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fQ8tle8S 

September 2015

ACSH‘s Dr. Gil Ross praised the “CAS Speakers Series” in a blog post titled “Billion Dollar Green Campaigns Kill Poor Children.” Ross said the CAS series was created “to use facts to counter the perceived tendency of college students to follow the environmentalist mantra without too much thought … the concept of being afraid of genetic engineering is akin to looking under the bed for hobgoblins such as Godzilla, awakened by the atomic tests of the Cold War.”38 Gil Ross. “Billion Dollar Green Campaigns Kill Poor Children,” Science 2.0, September 28, 2015. Archived February 19, 2016. WebCite URl: http://www.webcitation.org/6fQG6WPWW

November 8, 2005

The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) awarded author Michael Crichton its 2005 “Sound Science Prize” for “his defense of sound scientific principles and critiques of junk science” in his novel State of Fear.39 (Press Release) “Michael Crichton Accepts Award from ACSH,” American Council on Science and Health, November 8, 2005. Archived May 8, 2010. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

James Hansen, who had been quoted in the book, critiqued Crichton’s use of the “scientific method,” and said that the book’s primary purpose was to “discredit concerns about global warming.”40 James Hansen. “Michael Crichton’s ‘Scientific Method’” (PDF), Retrieved from Columbia University, 2005. Archived February 19, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

“Crichton writes fiction and seems to make up things as he goes along. He doesn’t seem to have the foggiest notion about the science that he writes about. Perhaps that is o.k. for a science fiction writer,” Hansen writes.41 James Hansen. “Michael Crichton’s ‘Scientific Method’” (PDF), Retrieved from Columbia University, 2005. Archived February 19, 2016. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

State of Fear was further critiqued by the scientists at RealClimate who also point out how James Hansen had been quoted largely out of context in the book.42 “Michael Crichton’s State of Confusion,” RealClimate, December 13, 2004.

Chris Mooney, who examined Crichton’s footnotes in an article in the Boston Globe, interviewed climatologist Douglas Hardy who said that Crichton was distorting his work:

Crichton is doing ”what I perceive the denialists always to do,” says Hardy. ”And that is to take things out of context, or take elements of reality and twist them a little bit, or combine them with other elements of reality to support their desired outcome.”43 Chris Mooney. “Checking Crichton’s footnotes” (Page 2), The Boston Globe, February 6, 2005. Archived March 22, 2005. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

March 27, 2009

The American Council on Science and Health released a report titled “Jerry M. Cuttler and Myron Pollycove.44 “Nuclear Energy and Health, And the Benefits of Low-Dose Radiation Hormesis” (PDF), Dose-Response, 7:52-89, 2009. Accessed February 11, 2016 from Scribd. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

ACSH claims the report “dispels some of the most common fears about nuclear energy” and describes nuclear as a “safe and highly efficient source of energy”45 “Report: Time to Lose Irrational Fear of Nukes,” ACSH, March 27, 2009. Archived February 11, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6fECk9Ydm

October 14, 1997

Published a position paper entitled “Global Climate Change and Human Health” (PDF). The paper presents the following position statement on the health effects of projected climate change:

  • “Nearly all of the potential adverse health effects of projected climate change are significant, real-life problems that have long persisted under stable climatic conditions. Bolstering efforts to eliminate or alleviate such problems would both decrease the current incidence of premature death and facilitate dealing with the health risks of any climate change that might occur.”
  • “Policies that weaken economies tend to weaken public health programs. Thus, it is likely that implementation of such policies would (a) increase the risk of premature death and (b) exacerbate any adverse health effects of future climate change.”46 “Global Climate Change and Human Health” (PDF)

ACSH suggests we avoid implementing policies that would “impair economies”:

“The optimal approach to dealing with prospect of climate change would (a) include improvement of health infrastructures (especially in developing countries) and (b) exclude any measures that would impair economies and limit public health resources.”47 “Global Climate Change and Human Health” (PDF)

The report contends that implementing proposals designed to mitigate climate change would “significantly weaken the global economic system” and that the optimal approach to dealing with the prospect of adverse climate-change–related health effects would be largely adaptational.“48 “Global Climate Change and Human Health” (PDF)

ACSH Contact & Location

As of June 2016, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) listed the following contact information on its website:49 “Contact ACSH,” American Council on Science and Health. Archived June 29, 2016. WebCite URL: http://www.webcitation.org/6icDTyPM7

American Council on Science and Health (ACSH)
110 East 42nd Street, Suite 1300, New York, NY 10017
212-362-7044 | Toll Free: 866-905-2694 | Fax: 212-362-4919
e-mail: [email protected]

Note that of the Organizations listed as funders of ACSH in 1984 many reduced or stopped their funding when ACSH adopted its position against tobacco.

According to ACSH, “ACSH‘s warnings about cigarette smoking resulted in the loss of substantial contributions from food manufacturers that had been acquired by tobacco companies. A metal pipe manufacturer withdrew its support after ACSH defended the safety of the proper use of plastic pipes.”50 “FAQ,” American Council on Science and Health. Archived February 3, 2012. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmogBlog.

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