Stephan Neidenbach

Stephan Neidenbach

Stephan Neidenbach, creator of We Love GMOs and Vaccines, is employed as a teacher and tweets, writes and comments on articles about GMO technology, glyphosate, and Monsanto. Neidenbach formerly tweeted as @welovegv and is known for regularly harassing NYU professor Nassim Taleb. Neidenbach transferred control of the We Love GMOs and Vaccines website to UC Hastings Law Professor Dorit Reiss in 2020.

Neidenbach claims to have no ties to industry but has contributed to the corporate front group Genetic Literacy Project. Neidenbach is often promoted on the website of the American Council on Science and Health. An article by Neidenbach is published on the biotech industry sponsored GMO Answers website, and he is named as a contributor to AgDaily.

Bloomberg and The Progressive have reported that Monsanto has a social media strategy called “Let Nothing Go”—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 agrochemicals. 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 2015, NYU professor Nassim Taleb wrote a paper about the possible dangers of GMO technology, and a campaign was launched to have him removed from the faculty. During this same time, Neidenbach began posting pictures that compared Taleb to Adolf Hitler. Neidenbach later tweeted, "We have some computer people Ketchum hired to help us out." Ketchum is an international PR company that runs the social media program GMO Answers.

Now deleted, Neidenbach founded and contributed to a publication on the website Medium called The Method, which was described as "Promoting sustainable technology and exposing those who demonize it." Other contributors included Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz and Carol Curchoe.

Neidenbach on Lyme Disease

Neidenbach also considers himself an expert on Lyme Disease. In February of 2018, Maryland State senators were criticalof Neidenbach's testimony against HB880 and SB073, two bills meant to require insurance coverage for extended Lyme disease treatment. During testimony, he describes his Facebook page, We Love GMOs and Vaccines as a ‘grassroots organization.’ His testimony consisted of reading a portion of a book by Paul Offit. Neidenbach was one of four individuals testifying against the bill, two of whom were with the insurance industry, and stated they were not in agreement with part of his assessment of Lyme disease patients. Neidenbach has been a long time antagonist of the Lyme patient community.

Neidenbach on the HPV Vaccine

In a letter published at the Capital Gazette in 2018 responding to an opinion piece by Josh Mazer on whether or not HPV vaccinations should be mandated for school attendance, Neidenbach claimed, "...that there is no evidence that the death of Christina Tarsell was caused by the HPV vaccine." He further states that, "The initial special master ruled that there was no evidence, and a federal judge on appeal sent it back with instructions to reverse the burden of proof and to relax the typical medical standards on which claims in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program relies."

Emily Tarsell, mother of Christina Tarsell, refuted Neidenbach's account of her daughter's cause of death and legal proceedings, explaining, "The court determined that we had met our burden of proof according to the law.." and "The final judgment stated: “Ultimately, because of the finding that Christina began to experience arrhythmia after her HPV vaccination, Ms. Tarsell has presented preponderant evidence of a logical sequence of cause and effect, connecting the HPV vaccination to the ensuing arrhythmia." She further notes that, "By a preponderance of the evidence, HHS conceded that Christina died from the HPV vaccine Gardasil."

"Neidenbach clearly never did any research before opining publicly with false, unsupported statements that are clearly refuted by legal documents."

Neidenbach Trolling on GMOs, Monsanto, and Pesticides

Neidenbach Amazon Reviews

While denying any ties to Monsanto or the biotech industry, Neidenbach maintains a constant presence in the comments sections of news stories that discuss Monsanto, GMOs, and pesticides. Neidenbach is often accompanied in news comment sections by Mary Mangan. A selection of his work:

• In July 2015, Neidenbach posted to the group GMO LOL on Facebook expressing thanks for the "..amount of people going after the antis now..." comparing it to when he started the We Love GMOs and Vaccines Facebook page. "Wow. When I started We Love GMOs and Vaccines 1 1/2 years ago I was just home trolling when I was sick with mono for a month."

• In July 2017, the editor of Toronto's "The Bulletin" wrote an article about Monsanto’s army of online bullies, noting, "There are hundreds, possibly thousands of them, paid to bully, shame and endlessly argue with anyone posting a comment deriding GMOs or pesticides." In the comment section of the story, Stephan Neidenbach wrote, "Jeffrey Smith is a known cult leader with the Maharishi. He has an ideological reason for attacking GMOs. Something to do with invincibility and thought bubbles."

• In 2016, The Tufts Daily wrote an article about Professor Sheldon Krimsky, whose research covers ethics in science. The story reported that Krimsky had a "long career in studying the intrusion of corporate money into research and academia." In the comment section, Neidenbach wrote, "Krimsky is lying. He knows very well that not all GE crops are patented, while countless conventional crops are . . . The man is an ideologue who even fought against insulin."

• In July 2017, Berkeley Professor Alastair Iles wrote that Stephan Neidenbach had sent a open records act request for his emails and the emails of other professors who wrote 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, Neidenbach wrote, "Every possible argument you make against GMOs also apply to artificial selection and mutagenesis." In an article published by VICE, associate professor at Michigan State Phil Howard who signed the letter of concern with Iles, commented that, "Neidenbach's FOIA requests are intended as harassment, but they are also attacks on free speech and intellectual freedom. The burdens of responding to such trolls may discourage other researchers from speaking up in the future. I hope this is not the case, however, because these tactics suggest that zealous promoters of genetic engineering are increasingly desperate in their efforts to overcome public resistance."

• 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, Neidenbach wrote, "Illogical conclusions based on little evidence. Many basic facts about science are just wrong."

• In December 2017, Ensia carried an article that discussed how glyphosate is ending up in our food, thanks to the growing practice of using it to dry crops in preparation for harvest. In the comments section, Neidenbach wrote, "Did you consider reaching out to a single credible scientist on this issue?"

• In February 2019, Neidenbach is quoted in an NBC News article about online struggles over vaccine information. In reference to We Love GMOs and Vaccines: “That’s what separates me from other organizations,” Neidenbach said. “I’m not an organization, and I’m not trying to run a nonprofit. I’m just a school teacher. And I don’t have to be as nice as I do in the classroom.” During February of the previous year while submitting testimony opposing a bill in the Maryland senate Neidenbach described We Love GMOs and Vaccines as a 'grassroots organization.'

• In November of 2020, Neidenbach spoke more about his motivation for starting We Love GMOs and Vaccines, "These anti-science jabronis offended me."

• In September 2021, Nassim Taleb commented to The Disinformation Chronicle newsletter on Neidenbach's behavior targeting himself and others, noting his privileged status, "...for people who are not privileged like me, with credentials, and who has money… Think about how vulnerable others are." “This can make a person’s life impossible,” Taleb said. “Science needs to adjust to this if it hopes to evolve.”

Related SourceWatch Articles

• We Love GMOs and Vaccines
• Jon Entine
• Mary Mangan
• Kevin Folta
• Alex Berezow
• Genetically Modified Organisms
• Monsanto
• Biology Fortified, Inc.
• Genetic Literacy Project
• American Council on Science and Health