While senior public officials (elected or appointed) are prohibited from managing their portfolios during their tenure in office, scientists with patents and equity in companies that fund their research are at most simply asked to disclose their interests.
[4]: 130 Krimsky raises the concern that conflicts of interest may compromise the scientific norm of "disinterestedness", which "requires that scientists apply the methods, perform the analysis, and execute the interpretation of results without considerations of personal gain, ideology, or fidelity to any cause other than the pursuit of truth.
To a large degree, universities have been taken over by money managers and academic entrepreneurs who are looking for financially lucrative research.
He also proposes that the relationships between corporations, universities, and government agencies have resulted in biased science that puts human health and environment at risk.
He has written and commented on genetically modified foods, water fluoridation, environmental health, global warming, and other controversial topics.