GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ A University of Florida horticulture professor targeted by activists for accepting $25,000 from the biotech company Monsanto is donating the money to a food pantry program.
Professor Kevin Folta, who chairs the UF horticultural sciences department, came under fire from a group opposed to genetically modified plants.
Folta says he’s been getting veiled threats online about accepting the money, and says he wanted to give the money back to quiet the anti-GMO groups.
The group obtained thousands of Folta’s emails, which detailed a close relationship with Monsanto Co., DuPont and Ketchum Inc., a public relations firm hired by the companies.
The Gainesville Sun reports that the activists said the relationship compromised Folta’s independence as a scholar, which he denied.
