Last spring, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved a field test for planting and growing genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees on several sites in the southern US, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.
The tests will be conducted by ArborGen LLC, a biotech firm owned by three forest product companies: International Paper, MeadWestvaco, and Rubicon, based in New Zealand. ArborGen is also partners with Scion, a New Zealand Crown Research Institute, in the development of gene discovery and breeding for forest trees. The two companies are working together to indentify gene traits associated with wood quality improvements in pine for both commercial forestry and biomaterials applications. The USDA permit allows ArborGen to plant, grow, and conduct research on genetically engineered eucalyptus trees, especially cold tolerance, on 29 sites covering approximately 300 acres.
But many environmentalists are against genetically modified trees. In July an alliance of conservation organizations including the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the STOP GE Trees Campaign, sued the USDA over approval of the field tests. Attorney, Mark Fink, of the Center for Biological Diversity who represented the organizations was quoted, saying, “In refusing to prepare a detailed environmental review, the Department of Agriculture ignored serious risks before permitting this action. Federal agencies can't be allowed to neglect their duty to the public trust. Once this genie is out of the bottle and escapes to neighboring lands, it's irreversible.”
ArborGen is hoping that plantations of genetically engineered eucalyptus trees will be more tolerant to cold weather, grow faster than native hardwood trees, and produce high-quality pulp that can be used for paper production. The company also says these designer trees could produce more timber in confined areas as well as promoting the conservation of natural forests.
But, because trees live longer than other genetically modified crops such as soybeans and corn, conservationists are concerned that the eucalyptus trees could spread their pollen beyond the test region, use more water than native species, and increase the risk of wild fires. Anne Petermann with the coalition Stop GE Trees along with other critics note than these trees tend to spread quickly and have the potential to invade forest regions.
But in an article in the New York Times, the USDA defends its decision, saying that the species of eucalyptus that will be planted has trouble growing without human intervention, and that their impact would be slight because the experimental plots will be no bigger than 20 acres and isolated from other trees.
Scion is working with the New Zealand Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) to begin a new field trial of genetically modified pine trees in the hopes of improving the quality and productivity of forest plantations to eventually cut down on the country's use of fossil fuels.
Read more on Celsias:
Genetically Engineering Trees That Self-Destruct
EPA Fines Monsanto for Selling Mislabeled GM Cotton in Forbidden Areas
