Conflicts of interest and publications on GM Bt crops

Three INRA researchers have analyzed the scientific literature on the efficacy or durability of Bt transgenic plants in terms of the possible link of interest between this research and the biotechnology industries. They publish their results in the journal PLOS ONE of 15 December 2016. They show that 40% of the publications studied present a financial conflict of interest¹. More importantly, the findings of these publications are more often favorable to the interests of the seed industries in the presence than in the absence of conflicts of interest. This general trend is also true at the level of the researcher. The society expects researchers to produce a transparent and impartial scientific production, especially when the subjects covered have a strong societal repercussion for ethical, economic or health reasons. The use of transgenic plants is one of these subjects, particularly within the European Union.