Jeffrey M. Smith | |
---|---|
File:Jeffrey M Smith.jpg | |
Born | 1956 |
Nationality | American |
Education | Maharishi University of Management (formerly Maharishi International University) |
Occupation(s) | Consumer advocate, Author, politician |
Jeffrey M. Smith (born 1956) is an American consumer advocate, [2] author and politician. He is the author of three books on genetically engineered foods [3] and has appeared twice on The Dr. Oz Show television show.[4] Smith ran for the U.S. Congress as a candidate for the Natural Law Party.[citation needed] He serves on the Genetic Engineering Committee of the Sierra Club. [citation needed]
Early life and education
Smith is a native of New York. [1] He graduated with an MBA from Maharishi International University in 1986 where he attended a "Purusha course" in 1983.[5][6]
Career
Politician
Jeffrey Smith campaigned in 1996 for the Natural Law Party In 1998, Smith was the Natural Law Party candidate for U.S. Congress in Iowa’s First District. Smith received 8 percent of the vote, losing to Republican Jim Leach.[7] The party's platform included the use Transcendental Meditation and yogic flying, taught and practiced at the Maharishi Institute, as a foundation for achieving world peace in politics. At campaign events in Illinois on behalf of Natural Law Party senate candidate Jim Davis, Smith provided demonstrations of yogic flying claiming the acts would “reduce crime and other ills.” According to Smith to have done yogic flying demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol, World Bank and United Nations as part of his campaign efforts in support of Natural Law Party candidates and promoting the adoption of teaching transcendental meditation in public schools.[8] At campaign events Smith presented charts which purported to demonstrate the effect of mass meditation and yogic flying on the crime rate in Washington, D.C..[9]
Smith has performed and provided instruction in swing dance under the professional name Swing Smith since 1996 teaching students at the University of Iowa[10][need quotation to verify] In 1999 the Smith founded Swingphoria, a Lindy Hop performance group, which performed around the Midwest.[citation needed]
Consumer activist and author
Smith worked as a marketing consultant before he became a consumer activist.[1] From 1999 –2001 he was the vice president for marketing, communications and business development for the Fairfield, IA-based GMO testing laboratory Genetic-ID. [citation needed] At Genetic-ID Smith traveled around the globe promoting food testing for and labeling of GMOs in food, personally asserting they were dangerous.[11][need quotation to verify] Smith promoted Genetic-ID services to organic food companies,[12] governments and activists groups[13][14]
Smith self-published his book, Seeds of Deception, in 2003 and received a favorable review in the September 2003 issue of The Milkweed.[15] Smith created a publishing house called Yes! Books.[16] In 2003 the Organic Trade Association sponsored Smith's appearance in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts as part of a speaking tour to promote his book.[17]
Smith founded the Institute for Social Responsibility in 2003 and serves as its executive director and in 2008 received a $24,000 annual salary.[citation needed] Smith's activist activities are supported through his speakers fees, book and DVD sales and sponsor donations.[1]
From 2004-2012 the Institute was listed as the “fictitious” business name for and operated as a project of “The Coordinating Council,”[18] a registered non-profit organization claiming no income or expenses from 2004-2007 and originally registered in Washington, State by nutraceutical lobbyist and health supplement salesman Craig Winters,[19][20] as the umbrella organization for The Campaign to Label Genetically Modified Foods political ballot initiative in that state. Smith is the only listed member and sole employee for this organization.
The Institute for Social Responsibility was created as a stand-alone tax-exempt, non-profit arm in 2012[21] Sponsoring donors listed on his website included: Organic Valley, Joe Mercola, Natural News/Mike Adams, Eden Organic, Nutiva, Nature’s Path Organic, WestSoy, EO, Earth’s Best Organic, New Chapter Organics, Rudis Organic Bakery, Silk, and various other organic and alternative health companies. From 2011-2012 Smith, via the Institute for Responsible Technology, played a key advocacy and coordinating role for a 2012 California ballot initiative seeking to label GMOs.[22] [23]
Smith has spoken to groups around the world including Brazil, Poland and the USA on the potential dangers of Genetically Modified Organisms in food.[1] According to an article in Reuters, a group of organic food companies in the U.S. see him as a someone who can champion their interests.[1]
Criticism
According to an article in Reuters, Smith has been" discounted as misinformed and misleading by supporters of biotechnology".[1] Several academics have launched campaigns[24] to dissect and review Jeffrey Smith’s claims and criticize organizations and media outlets who characterize or present Smith as an "expert" source[25] on issues of biotechnology. Other skeptics of Smith’s attacks on genetically modified crops have called his assertions "pseudoscience" and have generally discounted the transcendental meditation and yogic flying bases of his claims[26][27] due to the lack of quality research and a lack of methodological rigor in Smith's claims.[28] Smith has" no scientific or medical background".[29]
Personal life
In 2002 Smith filed Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy in Iowa Federal Court.[30]{[need quotation to verify] He resides in Fairfield, IA with his wife.[citation needed]
Bibliography
Books
- Smith, Jeffrey M. Preventing legal malpractice, Publisher: St. Paul, Minn. : West Pub. Co., 1981 [3]
- Smith, Jeffrey M (2003). Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating. Fairfield, IA: YES! Books (self published). ISBN 9780972966504.
- Smith, Jeffrey M (2003). Hard to Swallow: The Dangers of GE Food – An International Expose. Nelson, New Zealand: Craig Potton. ISBN 978-1877333118.
- Smith, Jeffrey M (2007). Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods. Fairfield, IA. ISBN 978-0972966528.
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Filmography
- Smith, Jeffrey M (2012). Genetic Roulette the Movie. Fairfield, IA. ASIN B0096DP4CG.
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ignored (help) - Smith, Jeffrey M (2008). Dangers in Kids' Meals and Your Milk on Drugs —Just Say No! a DVD. Fairfield, IA. ASIN 0972966560.
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References
- ^ a b c d e f g U.S. activist circles globe to fight biotech crops, Gillam, Carey, Reuters UK, March 7, 2008.
- ^ Monsanto petition tells Obama: ‘Cease FDA ties to Monsanto’, Washington Post, January 30, 2012.
- ^ a b Unknown author and date Jeffrey M. Smith World Cat, accessed Dec 13, 2012
- ^ Genetically Modified Pt.1, Dr. Oz Show, December 2010.
- ^ Maharish's Worldwide Transcendental Meditation Movement Golden Jubilee Yearbook, Maharishi University of Management, 1983.""Day-to-day activities on the Purusha course are like a celebration. Being with 200 happy, one-pointed, and enthusiastic individuals, life is lifted to new levels of fulfillment. There is an incredible feeling of togetherness within the group......—Jeffrey Smith "
- ^ Unknown author (1986) 1985-1986 Purusha Business, on pg. 40 in the MBA section, there is a photo of a man with the caption: Jeffrey Smith, MUM yearbook, 1986.
- ^ IA House Contested, Associated Press, November 2, 1998.
- ^ 'Yogic flying,' third-party candidates promoted, Bush, Bill, The Illinois State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL), October 23, 1996.
- ^ Fringe Candidate's Gimmick: `Flying' Yogis, Associated Press, October 24, 1996.
- ^ U. Iowa: Is swing dancing coming or going? Depends who you ask, Reinstein, Leah, The daily Iowan (U. Iowa), January 26, 1999.
- ^ Speaker warns U. Iowa students against genetic food, Standaert, Mike, The Daily Iowan (U.Iowa), April 21, 1999.
- ^ Press Release: Genetic ID's New GMO Tests Can Save U.S. Corn Exports to Japan; Restore Exports to Europe, Smith, Jeffrey Business Wire, March 23, 2000.
- ^ Sowing dissent.(Brief Article), Coghlan, Andy, New Scientist, May 27, 2000. who opposed genetically modified foods.
- ^ INTERVIEW-GM seed case highlights need for testing, Reuters News, Diderich, Joel, May 31, 2000.
- ^ Review From The Milkweed Reprint of book review on Smith's book web site
- ^ Institute for Responsible Technology & YES! Books, Academics Review, November 2012.
- ^ OTA will sponsor appearance by Jeffrey Smith, Organic Trade Association press release, September 24, 2003.)
- ^ Coordinating Council Iowa business registration # 315479, Iowa Secretary of State Business Registrations, accessed October 2012.
- ^ Natural Products Association Northwest Donates to Washington State GMO Labeling Initiative, Natural Products Association of the Northwest press release, October 12, 2012.
- ^ Full Spectrum Health business tax ID #601597337, Washington State Department of Revenue, January 10, 1995.
- ^ Institute for Responsible Technology profile, GuideStar, accessed September 2012.
- ^ Safety of genetically modified foods is debated in California, Kansas City Star, October 31, 2012.
- ^ Ryan Jaslow (2012-02-27). "Genetically modified crops resistant to 2,4-D spur debate, calls for labeling". CBS News.
The proliferation of GMOs in the country's food supply and environment is of primary importance to many, including Jeffrey Smith of The Institute for Responsible Technology.
- ^ Jeffrey Smith Profile, Academics Review website, accessed September 2012.
- ^ An interview with GMO expert Jeffrey M. Smith, Chico (CA) News Enterprise, September 15, 2011.
- ^ Sagan, Carl (1997). The demon-haunted world: science as a candle in the dark. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 16. ISBN 0-345-40946-9.
- ^
- Carlson, Ron, Decker, Ed, Fast Facts on False Teachings Harvest House Publishers, 2003 ISBN 0-7369-1214-2, ISBN 978-0-7369-1214-3 p. 254
- Marvizon, Juan Carlos "Meditation", Shermer, Michael (ed)The Skeptic: Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience ABC-CLIO, 2002 ISBN 1-57607-653-9, ISBN 978-1-57607-653-8 p 141
- Nanda, Meera "Postmodernism, Hindu Nationalism and Vedic Science", Koertge, Noretta Scientific Values and Civic Virtues, Oxford University Press US, 2005 ISBN 0-19-517225-6, ISBN 978-0-19-517225-6 p 232
- Kinman, John M., Of One Mind:The Collectivization of Science Springer, 1995 ISBN 1-56396-065-6, ISBN 978-1-56396-065-9 p 130
- ^ Ospina MB, Bond K, Karkhaneh M; et al. (2007). "Meditation practices for health: state of the research". Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep) (155): 1–263. PMID 17764203.
Scientific research on meditation practices does not appear to have a common theoretical perspective and is characterized by poor methodological quality. Firm conclusions on the effects of meditation practices in healthcare cannot be drawn based on the available evidence.
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ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Entine, John (Oct.19 2012) Forbes.com Malpractice On Dr.Oz: Pop Health Expert Hosts Anti-GM Food Rant; Scientists Push Back "During the show, which was promoted as an “investigation,” Oz provided uncritical time for Jeffrey Smith, an activist with no scientific or medical background"
- ^ Public Notice filed Jeffrey M. Smith of Fairfield, IA, Case number 02-03003-rjh7,United States Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Iowa, June 3, 2002.
Additional sources
- LaPado-Breglia, Christine G.K. (September 15, 2011). "An interview with GMO expert Jeffrey M. Smith". Chico News & Review. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
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