International Paper wants to be the Monsanto of GM trees

What more proof do we need that this is clearly being done to gain profit at the expense of our forests and biodiversity? How is this not a crime?

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Excerpt:

Approval would set ArborGen on a path to sell 275 million [genetically] engineered seedlings a year by 2018.

"There is a potential to explode once they get these trees approved," said David Knott, who manages $1.3 billion as chief executive officer of Dorset Management in Syosett, New York. He said he increased his stake in Rubicon to 70.5 million shares this year to bet on ArborGen because it has a customer base of large landowners and little competition. "This could take off faster than Monsanto."

TAKE ACTION: Please click here to take action against ArborGen's plan to plant 260,000 GM-trees.
http://globaljusticeecology.org/stopgetrees.php

QUOTE: "Here's a great idea: Let's bring into our country a genetically-engineered, non-native tree that is known to be wildly invasive, explosively flammable, and insatiably thirsty for ground water. Then let's clone thousands of these living firecrackers and plant them in forested regions across seven Southern states, allowing them to grow, flower, produce seeds, and spread into native environments. Yes, this would be irresponsible, dangerous, and stupid - but apparently "Irresponsible, Dangerous, and Stupid" is the unofficial slogan of the U.S. Department Agriculture." - Jim Hightower
http://jimhightower.com/node/6900
Listen to Jim Hightower's commentary:
http://jimhightower.com/sites/jimhightower.civicactions.net/files/28_17_rnc.mp3

For updates and action items, visit www.nogetrees.org.
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International Paper Treads Monsanto's Path to 'Frankenforests'
Jack Kaskey
Bloomberg, August 28 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aEHNB_XJRWGU

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.

Plantations of engineered trees would give International Paper a competitive advantage by providing a reliable supply of lower cost wood at a time when timberlands are dwindling because of development, said David Liebetreu, the Memphis, Tennessee- based company's vice president of global sourcing. Opponents are concerned that alien genes may contaminate natural forests, echoing objections to modified crops that Monsanto still faces.

"There is a potential to explode once they get these trees approved," said David Knott, who manages $1.3 billion as chief executive officer of Dorset Management in Syosett, New York. He said he increased his stake in Rubicon to 70.5 million shares this year to bet on ArborGen because it has a customer base of large landowners and little competition. "This could take off faster than Monsanto."

more at the link