Print-Friendly Version |
|
In honor of International Press Freedom Day, My Hero presents the story of Jane Akre and Steve Wilson. These two journalists attempted to tell an important news story which would have exposed a gigantic genetic engineering company. They insisted, moreover, on keeping to the facts of the story, and this cost them their jobs. This story has been reported in many independent online journalism outlets, including The Texas Observer, and the publication of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting), and Rachel's Environment and Health Weekly. Akre and Wilson are 2001 recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize.
|
FREEDOM HERO:
JANE AKRE & STEVE WILSON
 In 1997, reporters Jane Akre and Steve Wilson discovered that many dairy farmers in Florida were using Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) to increase milk production. Although the company that makes rBGH, Monsanto, insists that the hormone is safe, Akre and Wilson turned up testimony to the contrary: Farmers who began using rBGH reported seeing health problems in their cattle.
A special website that has been set up to report on the use of rBGH in dairy cattle says, "Though legal since approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1993, the artificial hormone commonly known as rBGH has been linked to cancer and is banned throughout Europe and unapproved in several other countries because of human health concerns."
Akre and Wilson presented their report to their bosses at WTVT, a news station owned by the Fox network. Although the details were well-documented, Monsanto, the maker of rBGH, pressured WTVT not to run the story. The station bosses, in turn, ordered Akre and Wilson to falsify details of the story. Akre and Wilson re-wrote the story 70 times, but never to the satisfaction of the network. They were locked out of their offices, denied access to crucial bits of information, and finally fired. The story ran in many independent journalism outlets, including The Texas Observer and the publication of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting), and Rachel's Environment and Health Weekly. There is a law called the Whistleblowers Act that protects people from this sort of abuse, and Akre and Wilson invoked this law by suing Fox for misconduct. After a five-week trial, a Florida jury hearing the case decided that Fox had "acted intentionally and deliberately to falsify or distort the plaintiffs' news reporting on BGH." Jane Akre was awarded damages for the loss of her job, and may also apply for reimbursement of her legal fees.
|
The public did not want unnatural stuff in their milk, cheese and ice cream, and grocers knew this. However, because milk from different dairy farms sometimes gets mixed together, it was difficult for the grocers to know whether their milk products did or did not contain rBGH. Furthermore, Monsanto lobbied very hard against the labelling of products, which would give consumers more information and more choices.|
|
|
Consumers International A worldwide non-profit federation of consumer organisations, dedicated to the protection and promotion of consumer interests. Jane and Steve maintain their own website ProjectCensored.org "...to explore and publicize the extent of censorship in our society by locating stories about significant issues of which the public should be aware, but is not, for one reason or another." Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting A National Media Watch Group Monsanto Watch News about the chemical giant from the Organic Consumers Association. |
 |  |  |  |
| Abraham Lincoln was a U.S president who fought for the abolition of slavery while keeping the country united. | Alexander Solzhenitsyn was a Russian novelist and dissident who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. | Angela Davis is a leader, author, and professor who has fought for decades for human rights. | Art Miki founded the National Association for Japanese Canadians to help redress Japanese rights lost during WWII. |
 |  |  |  |
| Aung San Suu Kyi has dedicated her life to freeing Burma from a repressive dictatorship and creating democracy without violence. | Bill Bradley once a pro-basketball player now is a politician who advocates reform to make America better for all. | Cesar Chavez was a tireless advocate for migrant farm workers. | Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce tribe in an effort to keep its homeland. |
 |  |  |  |
| Clara Shortridge Foltz was the first woman to practice law in California. | Constance Motley became the first African-American woman judge on the largest federal trial bench in the US. | Craig Kielburger believes kids can change the world. | Crazy Horse bravely fought for the freedom of the Sioux Nation. |
 |  |  |  |
| Daniel Pearl was a Wall Street Journal reporter who reported the news with courage, integrity, and intelligence. | Deborah Sampson dressed as a man so that she could fight in America's Revolutionary War. | Declaration of Human Rights established the basis for human rights beliefs and practices all over the world. | Desmond Tutu worked to end apartheid in South Africa. |
 |  |  |  |
| Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream" was the civil rights speech that moved the world | Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Congressman John Lewis talks about how Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired him as a young man during the Civil Rights Movement | Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet is known as the 'Mandela of Cuba' because he bravely defends the rights of Cuban citizens. | Eleanor Roosevelt was a champion for freedom and devoted her life to gaining rights for others |
|  |  |  |
| Eleanor Roosevelt was a dedicated and strong voice for her husband, FDR, and for the United States. | Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a pioneer in the movement for women's rights. | Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a leader who is bringing change and hope to Liberia. | Emmeline Pankhurst fought tirelessly for women's suffrage, and succeeded. |
 |  |  |  |
| Fadela Amara is recognized throughout France as a champion of women's rights. | Frances Ellen Watkins was a prolific author and poet who devoted her life to speaking out against slavery. | Fred Korematsu bravely protested the Japanese-American internment. | Frederick Douglass courageously spoke out against slavery and became a trusted advisor to Abraham Lincoln. |
 |  |  |  |
| George Washington was the first President of the United States. | Harriet Tubman organized the Underground Railroad and helped lead slaves to freedom. | Inez Milholland Boissevain : a brief but spectacular life dedicated to women's suffrage. | Inge Sargent is a Burmese princess devoted to human rights for all. |
 |  |  |  |
| Iqbal Masih was a brave advocate for child labor laws in Pakistan. | James Reeb risked his own life as a brave civil rights crusader. | Jane Akre & Steve Wilson won the 2001 Goldman Environmental Prize for their courageous journalism. | Janet Jagan was the first female president of Guyana and dedicated her life to building the independence of a nation. |
 |  |  |  |
| Jessie Daniel Ames worked openly and actively on behalf of racial justice. | John Adams worked as hard for peace for the United States as he did for its independence. | John Lewis has worked for civil rights for all for over 40 years. | Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta is Kerry Kennedy's hero because of his human rights work in East Timor. |
 |  |  |  |
| Jose Marti is considered the father of Cuba's battle for independence. | Joseph Ki-Zerbo works to help Africans retain control of their country's agriculture. | Joséphine Baker , popular African American dancer in France, fought for civil rights and freedom against the Nazis. | Judy Feld Carr secretly helped thousands of Jews escape from Syria. |
 |  |  |  |
| Kailash Satyarthi is determined to end child labor practices around the world. | Kofi Annan is an honored freedom and peacemaker hero. | Lyndon B. Johnson was John's great grandfather and the 36th President of the United States. | Malcolm Little known as Malcom X, was a warrior in the fight against racism. |
 |  |  |  |
| Marian Wright Edelman is one of the country's leading advocates for children. | Martin Luther King, Jr. Peaceful freedom fighter and civil rights activist | Mary Harris Jones worked to free men, women, and children from industrial slavery. | Medgar Wiley Evers worked to end racism in America |
 |  |  |  |
| Mohammad Hatta was a central figure in Indonesia's fight for independence. | Mohandas K. Gandhi used non-violence to free India from British rule. | Morris Seligman Dees is the co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. | Moses led the Jews from slavery and gave them religious laws. |
 |  |  |  |
| Nellie McClung believed in equal rights for all women | Nelson Mandela is a peacemaker and a freedom hero. | Nelson Mandela is Muhammad Ali's hero because he understands what it means to fight against enormous odds | Osceola led the Seminoles in their battle for independence. |
 |  |  |  |
| Paul Revere risked his life for the freedom of the American colonies. | Qasim Amin was a forerunner in the fight for women’s liberation in the Islamic world. | Quaid-E-Azam helped to create the nation of Pakistan and obtain significant political rights for Muslims | RAWA promotes women's rights through non-violent action. |
 |  |  |  |
| Rev. James Reeb worked for equal rights for all | Reverend Peter Nguyen Van Hung works to end human trafficking of Vietnamese women workers and brides. | Robert F. Kennedy was a voice for the powerless and advocate for human rights. | Roger Nash Baldwin A pioneer in the struggle for civil justice. |
 |  |  |  |
| Rosa Parks made history when she refused to sit in the back of the bus. | Ruby Bridges bravely led the way to desegregation of schools as a child. | Sir William Wallace was a freedom-fighter for the Scottish people in the early 1300s. | Sojourner Truth born into slavery, worked for the freedom of all. |
 |  |  |  |
| Susan B. Anthony led the early Women's Suffrage Movement. | Susie King Taylor was a pioneer in the struggle for African American women's rights. | The Dalai Lama is the religious leader of Tibet and an emblem of Tibet's hopes for freedom. | The Greensboro Four protested segregation with a sit-in at Woolworth's lunch counter. |
 |  |  |  |
| The Little Rock Nine bravely fought discrimination to attend an all white high school in Little Rock, Arkansas. | Thomas Jefferson helped the American Colonies achieve independence from Britain. | Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. | Tiananmen Square discuss freedom and democracy at Tian An Min Square. |
 |  |  |  |
| Vaclav Havel despite censorship, wrote plays that helped keep the hope of freedom alive.... | Varian Fry helped thousands of refugees escape from France during WWII. | W.E.B. Dubois was a leading 19th century writer and scholar. | William Wallace was a late 13th century freedom fighter for Scotland and Ireland |
 | |||
| Winston Churchill was one of the first to recognize and warn others of Hitler's danger to freedom and human rights. |
Last changed on:6/29/2004 1:49:02 PM
|
