As posted in Bloomberg:
“Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) — International Paper Co., the world’s
largest pulp and paper maker, plans to remake commercial forests
in the same way Monsanto Co. revolutionized farms with
genetically modified crops.
International Paper’s ArborGen joint venture with
MeadWestvaco Corp. and New Zealand’s Rubicon Ltd. is seeking
permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to sell the
first genetically engineered forest trees outside China. The
Australian eucalyptus trees are designed to survive freezes in
the U.S. South.”
Do any of these genetically modified trees or crops concern anyone? I am pretty sure that we go to extended lengths to keep foreign plants and animals from inhabiting our country for fear of them disrupting our rather fragile ecosystem. Why would it possibly make sense to create genetically modified plants that are engineered to be stronger than other plants and throw them out in the wild to see what happens?
“Engineered eucalyptus trees could be an ecological
disaster, bringing increased fire risk and extraordinary water
consumption to a new environment, said Neil J. Carman, an
Austin, Texas-based member of the Sierra Club’s genetic
engineering committee. Easier-to-pulp trees will be weak, and
hurricanes will spread their pollen and contaminate native
forests, he said.”
