Mary Mangan

Mary Mangan

Mary Mangan is a biologist on the advisory board for the Cornell Alliance for Science which has been noted as a PR front for GMOs, junk food, and pesticides. She writes and comments on articles about GMO technology, glyphosate, and Monsanto. Her twitter account is @mem_somerville. Her writings appear in Biology Fortified, Inc. and the Genetic Literacy Project. According to Bloomberg and The Progressive, a civil suit is currently alleging that Monsanto has a social media strategy called “Let Nothing Go,” which according to the plantiffs is a program in which individuals who appear to have no connection to the industry rapidly respond to negative social media posts regarding Monsanto, GMOs, and agrichemicals. They allege that part of this strategy includes funneling money to the Genetic Literacy Project.

In a report that examined corporate attacks on science, Congress found that to discredit the World Health Organization (WHO), Monsanto "turned to industry trade groups, such as CropLife and industry front groups, such as Genetic Literacy Project and Academics Review as platforms of support for industry spokespersons."

In late 2017 documents were released as part of a lawsuit against Monsanto regarding the possible carcinogenicity of the pesticide glyphosate. One document detailed Monsanto's battle plan against the World Health Organization, which was planning to classify glyphosate as a possible carcinogen. On page five, Monsanto's plan listed strategies and tactics for discrediting the World Health Organization before it released its ruling, and named several "industry partners" they would work with that included Biofortified (Biology Fortified, Inc.), Sense About Science, Genetic Literacy Project, and Academics Review/

The HuffPost reported that Mangan attempted to pass documents to a reporter to try and undermine research by scientist Charles Benbrook. The reporter told HuffPost that the documents contained nothing worth reporting and that Mangan was trying to "play" her to do a hit job. In a statement to HuffPost in September 2019, Bayer said that the company “no longer provides financial support” to the Genetic Literacy Project.

Mangan comments on GMOs, Monsanto, and Pesticides

While denying any ties to Monsanto or the biotech industry, Mangan maintains a constant presence in the comments sections of news stories that discuss Monsanto, GMOs, and pesticides. Mangan sometimes signs her comments as mem_somerville and is sometimes accompanied in news comment sections by Stephan Neidenbach. A selection of her writings:

• In July 2015, Mangan wrote on the Biology Fortified, Inc. website of her presentation to the Boston Skeptics, "Skeptics Ask Monsanto" where she talked, "about GMOs – but from the Monsanto side."

• In May 2018, Elena Conis wrote a review of a book on glyphosate written by Carey Gillam for the Los Angeles Review of Books. Criticizing the review, Mangan commented as mem_somerville and wrote, "Her book will not age well at all--and reviewers of her book that didn't rigorously evaluate it won't stand up very well either."

• In November 2017, Undark Magazine carried an op-ed that discussed internal Monsanto documents that revealed their campaign to suppress science on the dangers of glyphosate. In the comment section, Mangan promoted her review of a book on glyphosate which appeared on the Biology Fortified, Inc. website.

• In July 2017, Berkely Professor Alastair Iles wrote that Stephan Neidenbach had sent an open record act request for his emails and the emails of other professors who had written a letter of concern about a documentary called Food Evolution that promotes GMOs in a scientifically uninformed fashion. Alastair explained that after Neidenbach received the emails, he "wrote a letter on the Medium website that claims the letter of concern was written at the behest of the organic food industry, without disclosing this connection, and is based on false information (i.e. we did not see the film). Unfortunately, but perhaps unsurprisingly, Neidenbach chose to quote very selectively from the email messages that he was able to extract. He and his colleagues are also circulating images of the extracts on Twitter." In the comment section of the blog, Mangan wrote, "So you say FOIA results in cherry-picked representations of a researcher’s statements and/or perspectives? Do you think that’s possible that the dozens of FOIAs filed by US Right To Know suffered the same outcomes? Things that make you go: hmmm.."

• In April 2017, Tom Zeller Jr. at Undark Magazine wrote an article that discussed an ad placed by Monsanto that sought a journalist to work for them. Zeller wrote, "the job description seems to call for a marketing or communications specialist whose core responsibilities amount to writing and producing informational material about the company and its business interests — presumably in a manner that reflects well on Monsanto." In the comment section, Mangan argued, "I do think your ire is misplaced."

Harassment of author and Guardian columnist Carey Gillam and other Monsanto critics

Mangan spends generous amounts of time harassing Carey Gillam, author and columnist with The Guardian. Mangan wrote a denigrating article about Gillam's book for Biology Fortified, Inc.. When Gillam gave a talk about her book at the Cambridge Forum, Mangan showed up and was later led away from the microphone, and then was escorted out of the talk. Gillam's book won the Rachel Carson book award from the Society of Environmental Journalists.

The Disinformation Chronicle hosted a guest blogger in 2023 who described a series of incidents where Mangan had reported her Twitter account for copyright infringement after sharing screengrabs of Mangan's first slide from her talk in 2015 for the Boston Skeptics, "Skeptics Ask Monsanto." Mangan uploaded the full slide deck to the SlideShare website, where the public is able to download the material. In the details of the slide deck, Mangan writes, "Cranks are lying about this event, but they are always lying," "If you got here from SourceWatch...Check the actual facts. It's all handwaving and fiction in their piece. Red string on thumbtacks by cranks. They should be concerned about defamation...," and "Also: Sourcewatch loves cranks...The place is pro-crank, anti-science. I don't know why this makes Vixen Valentino so mad--they are just facts there for everyone too see how much they love cranks there, and hate legit scientists."

The UK Nonprofit GMWatch detailed a similar experience they had with Mangan's associate Stephan Neidenbach making copyright reports to their web server for using photographs from his social media accounts of him in a Monsanto t-shirt, wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, and at events with Mark Lynas and Kevin Folta. GMWatch replaced the photos with an artist's cartoon renderings.

Related SourceWatch Articles

• Jon Entine
• Stephan Neidenbach
• Genetically Modified Organisms
• Monsanto
• Biology Fortified, Inc.
• Genetic Literacy Project