The misuse of science by campaign groups to promote their cause is all around us. But it has not gone unnoticed. Debates about the weight of evidence for or against scientific topics such as climate change, homeopathy or the safety of vaccinations are widespread. See for example the excellent column and blog by Guardian writer Ben Goldacre on ‘bad science’. This week, Goldacre points out that ‘as long as you cherry pick the data and keep one eye half closed, you can prove anything with science’.

But what happens when the objectives of groups campaigning on different themes are in conflict. This is the messy situation highlighted in a recent Political Update from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV). The Update complains about a Greenpeace commissioned study which has concluded that a strain of genetically modified (GM) maize, approved for sale by the European commission, has shown signs of toxicity in laboratory rats. Greenpeace is claiming that such GM food poses significant health risks, but the BUAV responds that this study demonstrates little more than the supposed limitations of animal tests.

Both parties are guilty of distorting science by simply interpreting evidence as they wish to see it.