The Bay Area Forest Activist Newsletter, Summer 2003

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GE TREES--THE NEW CHAIN SAW MASSACRE

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August 15, 2003


Monoculture tree plantations are already threatening enough to biological diversity, but things could get worse. Genetic engineering (GE), which had unleashed a host of poorly tested and little understood so-called "advancements" on the world of agriculture, is now being applied to forestry. Research to develop trees to express a multitude of traits solely for the purpose of increasing productivity to fuel the $400 billion global wood products market (of which the U.S. consumes 25%) is being carried out at UC Davis and other locations.
Consider these pitfalls of GE tree cultivation:
1) A naturally occurring bacteria--Bt-toxin--could be genetically engineered to be in every cell of a tree. Any insects that ingest any part of the tree die. For industry, this would be an efficient form of insect control. The magnitude of the harm of Bt-toxin entering the environment from GE trees, however, would be unprecedented.
2) Trees could be genetically engineered to be herbicide-resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup, harmful to populations of insects, fish, birds, fungi and bacteria, and more.
3) In GE trees, lignin, the structural glue that gives trees strength, is reduced. Wood fiber then processes to paper more economically. But the weaker trees are less able to
withstand infestations, heavy winds, and other events of nature.
4) Genetically engineered trees are bred to be sterile to prevent contamination of native species but sterility is not 100% achieved. When contamination occurs, ecosystems are imperiled with the effects described above. There is no method of containment, and drift is a much greater threat than with other GE crops simply because trees are taller.
5) GE trees remain the intellectual property of the patent-holding corporation.
Forest activists demonstrated against the corporate plan for GE trees when international agriculture ministers met in Sacramento to discuss trade agreements and GMOs in June. Xpedx, the retail outlet of International Paper (IP) Co., who, along with Monsanto, is leading the change toward development of GE trees was a demonstration target. The other action was at UC Davis where GE tree research is taking place.
The one good piece of news is that commercial production is still 5-10 years away, allowing us time to stop the corporate "mad scientists". To learn more, check out www.asej.org.



Other Articles in This Issue

• The Humboldt-Houston Connection Made Real: Activists bring their message to MAXXAM and its CEO Charles Hurwitz at the corporate headquarters in Houston
  "We're sick of watching the liquidation of our last remaining ancient redwoods in California. We think the best place to...
  
  
• The Season in Review
  It has been a very busy year. We salute the dedicated, brave and very persistent activists who have sat in trees, writte...
  
  
• Flaws In The Headwaters Deal Finally See The Light Of Day
  On July 22, a Humboldt County Superior Court judge formally declared plaintiffs Environmental Protection Information Cen...
  
  
• Acronyms
  SYP Sustained Yield Plan ITP Incidental Take Permit THP Timber Harvest Plan HCP Habitat Conservation Plan MSP Maximu...
  
  
• DA Throws Down The Gauntlet To Pacific Lumber
  In a heroic move, Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos surprised residents last February by filing a lawsuit ...
  
  
• Mattole Old Growth
  Hello again from the Mattole! The Mattole Restoration Council's (MRC) Forest Practices Program keeps a watch on the fore...
  
  
• Maxxam Corporate Update
  If a tree falls in the forest, would Wall Street hear it? How about if the tree is occupied by a tree-sitter? Will Wal...
  
  
• Who are the Real Eco-Terrorists? Mill Closure And Job Loss: After The Boom, Who Sweeps Up The Rubble?
  As reported in our last newsletter, Maxxam/PL closed its flagship mill operation in the company town of Scotia, laying o...
  
  
• The Forests Find Some Champions In The California Legislature
  For the first time in more than a decade, a package of timber reform bills that would give an urgently needed overhaul t...
  
  
• Demonstrating What? Legal Victory Brings Relief for Jackson Demonstration Forest -- For Now
  Founded in 1947, the 50,000-acre Jackson State Demonstration Forest is the largest of eight forests in California's stat...
  
  
• Wildfire Bill Goes From Bad To Worse HR 1904 Expands Logging
  The Senate Agriculture Committee made a bad wildfire bill even worse in April by further gutting environmental protectio...
  
  
• Enough Wilderness
  On the eve of the release of the final management plan for the publicly-owned Headwaters Preserve, the Bush administrati...
  
  
• Crisis for the Sequoias
  The magnificent red-barked Giant Sequoias of the Sierra Nevada range, relatives to the coast redwood, are among the larg...
  
  
• Activist Resource Directory
  Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters 2530 San Pablo, Berkeley (510) 548-3113; Hotline (510) 835-6303; bach@igc.org; for t...