Dr. Arpad Pusztai is a renowned biochemist and nutritionist, known for his extensive research on plant lectins and his controversial findings on the potential negative effects of genetically modified foods.
Dr. Arpad Pusztai is a biochemist and nutritionist who spent 36 years at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was a world expert on plant lectins, authoring 270 papers and three books on the subject. In 1998, Pusztai publicly announced that his research showed feeding genetically modified potatoes to rats had negative effects on their stomach lining and immune system, leading to unjust scientific criticism and his suspension from the institute. This controversy became known as the Pusztai affair. Despite the criticism, Pusztai continued to lecture on his work and the potential dangers of genetic engineering of crop plants. He received the Whistleblower Award of the Federation of German Scientists and the German section of the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) in 2005.
