Dr. Oz: accuses critics of having conflict of interest

Dr. Mehmet Oz’s on-camera rebuttal to his critics is airing on local stations across the country Thursday, part of a P.R. blitz that includes an essay in Time magazine and an interview on NBC’s “Today” show.

Oz, arguably America’s best-known doctor, is going on the offensive after a group of ten doctors wrote to Columbia University and asserted that he should be stripped of his academic credentials.

“We’re not going anywhere,” Oz said in an essay he penned for Time that was published Thursday morning.

In the essay, Dr. Oz says some of the doctors have brazen conflicts of interest and suggests that they’re attacking him because of his stance on genetically modified foods.

“The lead author, Henry I. Miller, appears to have a history as a pro-biotech scientist, and was mentioned in early tobacco-industry litigation as a potential ally to industry,” Oz wrote. “He also furthered the battle in California to block GMO labeling — a cause that I have been vocal about supporting.”

Miller’s support for bio-tech foods is “a motive for the letter,” Oz asserted. The doctors’ letter to Columbia cited Oz’s “baseless and relentless opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops.”

Oz says he’s “not that concerned about GMOs themselves,” but believes “the freedom to make an informed choice should belong to consumers.”

Oz also acknowledged in the Time magazine essay that some criticism of him and his talk show is a good thing.

“I don’t expect all of my colleagues to understand this marriage between conventional medicine and the broader definition of wellness that the show pursues,” he wrote. “I expect and respect the criticism of colleagues who struggle with my approach and I try to improve the show accordingly.”

Oz is expected to make similar comments on his talk show, which airs in most markets on Thursday afternoon. In a clip released ahead of time, he said, “No matter our disagreements, freedom of speech is the most fundamental right we have as Americans. And these 10 doctors are trying to silence that right.”

He concluded, “So I vow to you right here and right now: we will not be silenced, we will not give in.”

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