Physicians Speak Out Against Dr. Oz’s Position on Columbia Medical School Faculty
Dr. Oz is America’s trusted television doctor. Though his expertise is cardiac surgery, the Dr. Oz Show covers myriad subjects and tops ratings, with millions tuning in daily to heed his advice. The man has charisma on his side; his demographic is composed largely of adoring women and young mothers. Though mainstream media has slammed him for espousing anti-science views, Oz continues to promote non evidence-based health advice. He’s truly earned the “Snake Oil Salesman” title, and continues to uphold the quackery that led to the label. Indeed, a recent study found that about half of the medical advice on the Dr. Oz show is baseless or downright wrong.
In addition to baseless medical advice, Oz instills fear of genetically-engineered foods, though the world’s leading scientific organizations agree that GE techniques are inherently safe.
On his March 10th episode, Dr. Oz aired a segment on the Arctic Apple. The United States Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration recently approved and deregulated the genetically engineered apple after years of field testing. Engineered with an enzyme “off-switch” using a technique called “RNA interference,” Arctic Apples don’t brown or bruise when cut, bitten, or bumped. The television doctor treated the topic with his usual anti-GE sentiment. I’m a 32-year-old mom of two, and I fit solidly into Dr. Oz’s target audience. But I’m not biting when it comes to his take on Arctic Apples, or most of his drivel in general.
I took one for the team and watched that episode, titled ““The Non-Browning GMO Apple: Is It Safe?” I then co-authored a piece on the episode for Slate (check out the comments, lots of positive ones as well as a few typical cases of Shill Accusation Syndrome.) Following the relative success of our article, “Low-Hanging Fruit: Dr. Oz sows seeds of mistrust on genetic engineering” my co-author Dr. Henry Miller coordinated a letter from himself and fellow esteemed physicians to the dean of the medical school at Columbia University. Dr. Mehmet Oz holds a senior appointment there in the Department of Surgery.
The letter reads as follows:
Lee Goldman, M.D.
Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and Medicine
Columbia University
Dear Dr. Goldman:
I am writing to you on behalf of myself and the undersigned colleagues below, all of whom are distinguished physicians.
We are surprised and dismayed that Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons would permit Dr. Mehmet Oz to occupy a faculty appointment, let alone a senior administrative position in the Department of Surgery.
As described here and here, as well as in other publications, Dr. Oz has repeatedly shown disdain for science and for evidence-based medicine, as well as baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops. Worst of all, he has manifested an egregious lack of integrity by promoting quack treatments and cures in the interest of personal financial gain.
Thus, Dr. Oz is guilty of either outrageous conflicts of interest or flawed judgements about what constitutes appropriate medical treatments, or both. Whatever the nature of his pathology, members of the public are being misled and endangered, which makes Dr. Oz’s presence on the faculty of a prestigious medical institution unacceptable.
Sincerely yours,
Henry I. Miller, M.D.
Robert Wesson Fellow in Scientific Philosophy
& Public Policy
Hoover Institution
Stanford University
Stanford, CAScott W. Atlas, M.D.
David and Joan Traitel Senior Fellow
Hoover Institution
Stanford University
Stanford, CAJack Fisher, M.D.
Professor of Surgery (emeritus)
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CAShelley Fleet, M.D.
Anesthesiologist
Longwood, FLGordon N. Gill, M.D.
Dean (emeritus) of Translational Medicine
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CAMichael H. Mellon, M.D.
Pediatric Allergist
San Diego, CAGilbert Ross, M.D.
President (Acting) and Executive Director
American Council on Science and Health
New York, NYSamuel Schneider, M.D.
Psychiatrist
Princeton, NJGlenn Swogger Jr. M.D.
Director of the Will Menninger Center for Applied Behavioral Sciences (retired)
The Menninger Foundation
Topeka, KSJoel E. Tepper, M.D.
Hector MacLean Distinguished Professor of Cancer Research
Dept of Radiation Oncology
University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Chapel Hill, NC
I’m on the edge of my seat to see what happens next. In the meantime, please feel free to contact Columbia University yourself to add your voice by emailing the dean (Dr. Goldman), the president of the university (Lee C. Bollinger) and the chairman of the board of trustees (Jonathan D. Schiller).
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16 Comments
I would be surprised if anything happens because, money.
I hope Dr. Miller succeeds in de-legitimizing that quack!
Stephanie Savage,
So do I!
What do you think about the recent MIT article about roundup/glyphosate? http://web.mit.edu/demoscience/Monsanto/impact.html
Spring of 2009 is recent?
Relatively recent, and I do really want to know what people think, because while I think GMOs in theory are fine, the profit driven practices of corporations make me suspicious. I am trying to be well informed, but it is difficult and if I am going to err, I will err on the side of caution.
Kavin Senapathy,
Speaking of Dr. Oz and others like him, have you seen this commentary from Julia Belluz over at Vox?
How should journalists cover quacks like Dr. Oz or the Food Babe?
http://www.vox.com/2015/4/13/8385295/science-reporting-ethics
One of these doctors is in my area. I just called his office to thank him for standing up against quackery.
Thank you! I hope he and others are receiving notes and calls of support.
“In addition to baseless medical advice, Oz instills fear of genetically-engineered foods, though the world’s leading scientific organizations agree that GE techniques are inherently safe.”
World’s leading scientific organizations?? Really? Which ones? Nobody trusts GMOs anymore.
So, public trust is how we decide scientific truths now?
People only mistrust GMOs because they don’t like Monsanto. They take their distrust of a corporation and one GMO plant and extend that to all GMOs everywhere, even Golden Rice, which has the potential to prevent large numbers of children from going blind.
These same people are willing to trust climate change scientists and are fast to point out that more than 98% of them agree that climate change is happening yet they refuse to trust the 88% of scientists who agree that GMOs are safe. It’s an excellent example of cognitive dissonance.
Kavin, when I click on any of the links for the doctors at Columbia, all 3 of them give me a 404 Page Not Found Error. Not sure what’s wrong, but I would love a way to contact the doctors and add my voice to the protest.
Charles, sorry about that! Here they are for now:
Dean Dr. Goldman: [email protected]
University president Lee C. Bollinger: [email protected]
Chairman of the board of trustees Jonathan Schiller: [email protected]
Wonderful, thank you so much Kavin! I’ll send my letters this weekend, most likely. I will also share this to my dental networks to see how many others will join in.
Oh, like he needs to keep his job at Columbia? If they drop him he’ll just have more time to promote quackery, plus, he’ll be a martyr in his own eyes and the eyes of his devoted viewers. There’s simply no way that he can lose, which is horrifying.