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tagged w/ GE trees
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Gutting Of Organic Dairying Is The Next Step To GE Farms
Fonterra, the New Zealand based dairy giant is slashing its support for [already token support of] organic farming and moving further towards GE dairy farming [GE rye grass].
Meanwhile, Scion and Arborgen push ahead with their GE tree trials in Rotorua planting 336 GE pine trees.–Gary Cranston
Fonterra has taken its next step towards genetically engineered pastures, with its announced scaling back of organic production by half, according to the Soil Health Association of NZ.
Fonterra’s announcement yesterday of a 50% drop in support for organic dairy production, shows the dairy giant’s lack of support for good environmental practice or consumer health, and marks the next step to genetically engineered (GE) farmlands, according to the Soil Health Association of NZ.
“Fonterra has never really been committed to organic production, although aiming for 200 farms and a 140% increase in production from 2005. Just 200 farms was a very limited vision. Organic production across all New Zealand’s dairy herd should have been in any long term vision for clean green 100% Pure NZ,” said Soil Health – Organic NZ spokesperson Steffan Browning.
“Organic production has been identified as the main obstacle to introducing GE grasses and crops into New Zealand in a Ministry of Research Science and Technology (MoRST, now Science and Innovation) report written by Terri Dunahay, an international biotechnology policy specialist with the United States Department of Agriculture.”
“Government also stopped real support for the organic sector following a briefing to the Agriculture Minister by Dunahay in 2009, yet Dunahay was duplicitous in every presentation I observed her. The misrepresentation of GE internationally, was appalling when Dunahay presented to Dairy NZ and the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand,” said Mr Browning.
“Dunahay and other United States lobbyists, along with New Zealand based pro-GE scientists fail to mention the significant GE contamination of non-GE farms, the loss of markets, the massive increase in herbicide use, the new resistant weeds and disease problems, higher seed and production costs, loss of biodiversity, or the human and animal health problems associated with genetic engineering (GE).”
Yesterday’s shock presentation to organic farmers in Taranaki and the Manawatu that their organically certified milk wasn’t wanted by Fonterra, because of reduced international demand, also included comment that organics caused “conventional” dairy production to be questioned as to its quality.
Best practice organics has improved soil structure and climate resilience, 43% more earthworm counts, 28% higher soil carbon sequestration, improved animal welfare, 33% less energy use, and a massive 58% reduction of nitrate leaching, yet is not valued well by Fonterra, because Fonterra’s conventional farming’s dirty environmental footprint, might be questioned more.
“The KPMG Agribusiness Agenda 2011 released in June, highlighted the potential lost opportunity of high net worth customers globally by New Zealand if support for organic market and production research is allowed to languish.” (4,5)
Organic dairy exports from New Zealand grew 400% between 2005-2009. Organic product sales in the USA grew 7.7% compared with total food sales increase of less than 1% in 2010, yet the New Zealand government is allowed funding for Organics Aotearoa New Zealand (OANZ) to stop this June, and had already long stopped support for the Green Party initiated Organics Advisory Service that had assisted significant growth in organic certification.
“Fonterra missed retailing organic butter in New Zealand, and has failed to market its organic products well. Where was the Fonterra brands organic butter in New Zealand super market shelves? It wasn’t to be found. Blaming reduced markets when there has been continued growth in organic consumption internationally shows a lack of organic marketing commitment by Fonterra, not a lack of customers.”
“Fonterra and the government have spent millions of dollars on GE rye grass development, (6) while support has been stalled for the organic sector.”
“Most of Europe and Scandinavia and many other countries have targets for farm production conversion to organics, because the environmental and social benefits are well recognised, but in New Zealand there appears to be a blind adherence to short term economic benefit including GE, even when non-GE alternatives are proven.”
“When I asked on Friday, why the government had spent tens of millions on GE grasses, but had effectively stopped spending money on organics, Environment Minister Nick Smith told me, “We didn’t think there was any money in it,” “said Mr Browning.
“The planting of 336 GE pine trees by Scion and ArborGen at their Rotorua field trial site last week adds to the sadness of spirit New Zealand is suffering through short term financial aims by giant agribusiness, while it ignores the environmental and social health of Aotearoa New Zealand.”
More at the linkFonterra, the New Zealand based dairy giant is slashing its support for [already token... more-
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Public and scientific doubts cause confidence in GE trees to decline
The genetically engineered tree (GE tree) company ArborGen, a joint project of timber corporations International Paper (NYSE: IP), MeadWestvaco (NYSE: MWV) and Rubicon (NZSE: RBC.NZ), decided suddenly yesterday to change its plans and not sell shares in ArborGen publicly on the NASDAQ exchange. [1]
On July 1, 2010, three member organizations of the STOP GE Trees Campaign ( Global Justice Ecology Project, Dogwood Alliance and Sierra Club) teamed up with attorneys at the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety to sue the US Department of Agriculture over their approval of a series of field trials involving more than a quarter of a million GE cold tolerant eucalyptus trees because the Environmental Assessment the USDA used to approve the field trials was inadequate. The lawsuit demands that the USDA prepare a full Environmental Impact Statement regarding the field trials because of their potential impacts on forests, ground water, wildlife and endangered or threatened species. [2]
The groups that filed the suit charge that GE trees carry serious social and ecological risks; and that these risks were either downplayed or outright ignored in the USDA's Environmental Assessment.
"This lawsuit against the USDA over their approval of GE eucalyptus trees is just one of a series of lawsuits that has been filed against the USDA by the Center for Food Safety, the Sierra Club and others," stated Dr. Neil Carman, a plant scientist with the Sierra Club. "The USDA's Environmental Assessments on GMO plants are shams. Their science is completely flawed. Litigation has revealed this time and time again in court. I think ArborGen has good right to worry that they will never get commercial approval for their GE trees, based on the legal precedents so far," he added.
Even industry is acknowledging the chilling effect of the numerous lawsuits against GMOs. In an article from April 29, 2011 in Biomass Power and Thermal Magazine, Karen Batra, director of communications for the Biotechnology Industry Organization stated, "Obviously, the litigious environment we have seen in the past couple years is representing a tremendous deterrent to investment in [biotechnology]..." Batra says. "It's making it very hard to get investments and to see their way through what could be five and 10 years in development of a product, if when you finally do get to a point where you're close to commercialization, you're going to have to deal with litigation. It is creating a huge barrier." [3]
"According to the CEO of Rubicon, one of ArborGen's parent companies, ArborGen plans to sell half a billion GE eucalyptus trees annually just in the US South," stated Anne Petermann, Executive Director of Global Justice Ecology Project and North American Focal Point of The Netherlands-based Global Forest Coalition. "This could devastate forest ecosystems, especially when you consider that one of ArborGen's eucalyptus species is an engineered variant of a species known to be invasive in Florida. In addition, eucalyptus trees are both explosively flammable and extremely water intensive. And now they've modified them to be cold tolerant, so they can spread throughout the US South. It's a disaster waiting to happen. GE eucalyptus trees are like kudzu, only flammable." [4] There are also several engineered species of native trees that are in the field trial stage-like poplar and loblolly pine that could irreversibly contaminate native forests with their engineered traits. [5]
In September 2009 the USDA rejected ArborGen's initial application for permission to release millions of their GE eucalyptus trees commercially.
"In addition to the detrimental impacts of escape or contamination of forests by GE trees is the fact that International Paper stated that they anticipate the use of GE trees will vastly expand the acreage of tree plantations in the South," stated Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director of the Dogwood Alliance. "Where is all of this land going to come from? Native forests will have to be clearcut to make room for GE tree plantations. Commercial release of GE eucalyptus trees will devastate the biologically rich native hardwood forests of the South, which is why Dogwood Alliance is so strongly opposed to them." [6]
Organizing to stop the commercialization of genetically engineered trees has been going on since 2000, with The STOP GE Trees Campaign founded in 2004 by thirteen groups including Global Justice Ecology Project, Dogwood Alliance and Sierra Club. The Campaign has since grown to include 145 organizations worldwide-with many based in Latin America. [7]
The court is expected to produce a ruling shortly on the lawsuit to stop ArborGen's eucalyptus field trials.The genetically engineered tree (GE tree) company ArborGen, a joint project of timber... more-
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2011 year of forests: Real solutions to deforestation demanded
As UN Declares International Year of Forests, Groups Demand Solutions to Root Causes of Deforestation
Insist Indigenous & Forest Peoples' Rights Must Be at the Heart of Forest Protection
New York, 2 February 2011-At the launch of the High Level segment of the UN Forum on Forests today, Mr. Sha Zhukan, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs will declare 2011 "the International Year of Forests." Civil society groups advocating forest protection, Indigenous Rights, and climate justice are launching a program called "The Future of Forests," to ensure that forest protection strategies address the real causes of global forest decline, and are not oriented toward markets or profit-making.
Critics from Global Justice Ecology Project, Global Forest Coalition, Dogwood Alliance, Timberwatch Coalition, BiofuelWatch, and Indigenous Environmental Network charge that the UN's premier forest scheme: REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), advanced amidst controversy at the recent UN Climate Summit in Cancún, will not protect forests or stop deforestation.
"It is ironic that the UN is declaring 2011 the International Year of Forests considering that forests today are being destroyed and degraded faster than ever before," said Blessing Karumbidza, researcher at the Timberwatch Coalition in South Africa. "UN promises of social and environmental safeguards under REDD ring hollow considering how rates of forest loss have continued to escalate since the introduction of industry-friendly forest certification schemes. These schemes do nothing to prevent the wasteful consumption of timber products that drives forest loss, and do not address the ecological and social problems inherent to monoculture timber plantations."
"The Southern US has led the way in forest destruction and degradation and the export of these egregious practices globally," stated Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director of the Dogwood Alliance. "We are bringing increased attention to this disastrous reality to help stop the drive toward wood-based bioenergy, large-scale clearcutting, and the further conversion of forests to plantations in our region and worldwide."
"REDD will not stop deforestation for a few simple reasons," stated Anne Petermann, Executive Director of Global Justice Ecology Project and North American Focal Point for Global Forest Coalition. "First, it is based on an unscientific definition of forests that includes monoculture tree plantations and even genetically engineered trees. Second, REDD does not address the underlying drivers of deforestation, so logging may be curtailed in protected areas, but then pushed to non-protected forests. Third, REDD enables industries in the North to continue polluting, worsening climate chaos and in turn devastating forests. A further problem is that REDD does nothing to reduce toxic impacts on the communities near these polluters," she concluded.
Forest peoples, especially Indigenous Peoples, insist there be real strategies in place to protect forests. These strategies must be consistent with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adhere to the rights of free, prior and informed consent, and ensure that forest peoples remain the caretakers of their lands.
"Putting forests in the care of the people that depend on them is the best way to protect them. This includes collectively demarcating and titling Indigenous Peoples' territories and land, where most of the world's forest are found," stated Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director of Indigenous Environmental Network. "Governments and corporations that profit from their plunder will never protect forests." [1] [2]
According to Dr. Rachel Smolker of BiofuelWatch, "The greatest emerging threat to forests is wood-based bioenergy. Scientific models predict that if the demand for wood-based energy continues to rise unabated, all forests and grasslands will be converted to bioenergy plantations by 2060." [3]
Global Forest Coalition released a report called "Getting to the Roots" at the recent UN Climate Conference in Cancún, Mexico to analyze the underlying causes of deforestation. The report concludes, "neoliberal economic policies are the main underlying causes since they are at the root of many of the other drivers of deforestation." [4]As UN Declares International Year of Forests, Groups Demand Solutions to Root Causes... more-
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Non GMO Month on the Sustainable Agriculture Group
Just a reminder that October has been designated as Non GMO month and hoping you will take the opportunity to learn more about GMOs, how to avoid them and actions you can take to call for labelling and proper oversight. This is an important issue that connects to our health, economy and the biodiversity of our world as well as impacting the affects of climate change. So if you also miss the days when people participated on Current and posted pods, well now is your chance to post one to the Sustainable Agriculture Group this month on GMOS, sustainable agriculture, or your opinion about them and labelling them. More information on that can be found in the video.
Thank you, and let's work for a healthier and more biodiverse world for our children. They deserve nothing less.Just a reminder that October has been designated as Non GMO month and hoping you will... more-
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Genetically engineered trees set to kill forest biodiversity
Southern U.S. States Targeted for Genetically Engineered Tree Plantations
United States–Today is the International Day Against Tree Monocultures [1]. Across the globe, timber plantations are wreaking havoc on forests and forest dependent communities. Now, to further exacerbate this damage, genetically engineered trees (or GE trees) pose a new and unprecedented threat.
The Dogwood Alliance’s Executive Director, Danna Smith said, “The USDA recently approved a request by GE tree company ArborGen, headquartered in South Carolina, to plant over a quarter of a million genetically engineered eucalyptus trees across Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and South Carolina, —many of the same regions still trying to recover from Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill. This would be another disaster for the region.”
Like kudzu, eucalyptus trees are wildly invasive, and spread into native ecosystems, displacing wildlife. Additionally, the oil in these eucalyptus trees is extremely flammable. California spends millions each year to eradicate invasive eucalyptus because of the threat of wildfires. In 2009 over 200 people were killed in Australia in a firestorm fuelled by eucalyptus. It was the worst fire in the country’s history.
On July 1, 2010 Global Justice Ecology Project, Dogwood Alliance, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Food Safety, and the International Center for Technology Assessment filed a lawsuit to stop ArborGen’s GE eucalyptus due to their potential impacts [2].
“It’s time for people to understand that GE trees must be banned and that plantations are not forests,” remarked Orin Langelle, Global Justice Ecology Project Co-Director/Strategist.
NOTES to Editors: [1] In 2004, September 21st was declared the International Day Against Tree Monocultures by organizations throughout the world. On this day, people in every continent carry out actions to generate awareness about the impacts of large scale tree monocultures on communities and their environments. For more info, see www.wrm.org.uy
[2] For background on the lawsuit click here.
Click here to sign the petition to stop genetically engineered trees!Southern U.S. States Targeted for Genetically Engineered Tree Plantations United... more-
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Lawsuit Filed Against USDA to Halt Release of Genetically Engineered Eucalyptus Trees
Groups Sue U.S. Gov't Over GMO Trees
http://globaljusticeecology.org/pressroom.php?ID=417
An alliance of conservation organizations today sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture over its approval of open-air field tests of a genetically engineered (GE) hybrid of eucalyptus tree across the southern United States. The permit, issued to a company called ArborGen, which is a joint initiative of International Paper, MeadWestvaco and Rubicon, was approved May 12 with minimal environmental review. It authorizes the experimental planting and flowering of a new, genetically engineered hybrid on 28 secret sites across seven southern states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.
“In refusing to prepare a detailed environmental review, the Department of Agriculture ignored serious risks before permitting this action,” said Marc Fink, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “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 hopes its GE “cold-tolerant” Eucalyptus will become widely planted for pulp and biomass. But eucalyptus trees are not native to the United States and are known to become invasive, displacing native wildlife and plants in various areas around the country and increasing wildfire risk. “Releasing GE cold-tolerant Eucalyptus trees into the wild in multiple states greatly increases the risk they will spread uncontrollably throughout the region,” said Dr. Neil Carman of the Sierra Club.
In approving the GE eucalyptus permits, the Department of Agriculture ignored the concerns of numerous agencies and scientists, including the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council, which formally criticized the proposed open field tests of these genetically engineered trees.
In addition to approving these test sites, Agriculture is also considering a “deregulation” petition submitted by ArborGen that would allow widespread commercial planting of GE Eucalyptus without any limits or regulation. According to the U.S. Forest Service, GE Eucalyptus plantations in the southern United States would use more than twice the water of pine plantations in a region already suffering from a depleted water supply.
“These tests include planting over a quarter of a million genetically engineered eucalyptus trees along the Gulf Coast and into South Carolina,” said Anne Petermann of Global Justice Ecology Project and the STOP GE Trees Campaign. “Ultimately they plan to produce up to half a billion GE eucalyptus seedlings annually for planting across the U.S. South. This would be another disaster for these beleaguered Gulf Coast states, leading to a loss of native forests and biodiversity, depleting ground water and worsening climate change.”
The Government Accountability Office and USDA inspector general have both issued sharply critical reports on the USDA’s management of genetically engineered organism (GMO) field tests. In 2006, a GE rice field test contaminated southern U.S. long-grain rice fields, causing billions in losses to farmers; in 2007, a federal court found that a GE bentgrass field test had contaminated a protected national grassland in Oregon. “The Department of Agriculture continues to tell the public that no further restrictions are needed on these novel organisms,” said George Kimbrell, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “In light of history, their empty promises here ring hollow.”
“Over the last generation the people of the South have watched the forests of our region destroyed by industrial forestry, impacting our water quality, wildlife habitat and quality of life,” said Scot Quaranda of Dogwood Alliance. “The federal government's decision to approve the use of GE Eucalyptus trees in our region will open the door to further exploitation of the people and forests of the South. This decision must be overturned.”
The organizations are represented by attorneys Marc Fink of the Center for Biological Diversity, George Kimbrell of the International Center for Technology Assessment and the Center for Food Safety, and Jeanne Marie Zokovitch Paben, director of the Earth Advocacy Clinic at Barry University School of Law.
snip
The organizations that filed suit today are the Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, Dogwood Alliance, International Center for Technology Assessment, Center for Food Safety and Global Justice Ecology Project.Groups Sue U.S. Gov't Over GMO Trees... more-
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Red Flags Raised About Potential Negative Impacts of Proposed Large-Scale Release of Genetically Engineered Trees in the U.S.
Washington, DC-- While the U.S. Supreme Court hears its first-ever case involving a genetically modified organism, alarms are sounding over the proposed planting of more than a quarter of a million genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees in the U.S., and transgenic trees are being globally condemned.
On April 27, the Supreme Court began to hear a case challenging a ban on the planting of a genetically engineered perennial alfalfa. The ban was implemented due to concerns about escape and contamination, and the inability of U.S. regulators to protect the public. [1]
In April, Reuters released a report exposing the fact that U.S. regulating agencies have "dropped the ball" when it comes to evaluating the potential risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). [2]
Reuters highlighted concerns that, "the U.S. government conducts no independent testing of these biotech crops before they are approved, and does little to track their consequences after." The report even went so far as to state, "Indeed, many experts say the U.S. government does more to promote global acceptance of biotech crops than to protect the public from possible harmful consequences."
This is a particular concern since the USDA's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), one of the named agencies in the report, is considering approving a request by ArborGen to plant 260,000 GE trees across seven states even though researchers admit some of these trees produce viable pollen and some seedlings are assured to escape.
Referring to the questionable efficacy of the altered fertility technology in these GE trees, researcher Steve Strauss said, "There does not seem to have been any serious field studies, in any crop, sufficient to estimate the operational effectiveness of containment genes." Adding, "Until many such studies are published, it would be unwise to assume that genes can be fully and safely contained in the near future." [3]
Additionally, MSNBC [4], NPR [5] and PLoS Pathogens [6] recently reported that a new strain of a deadly pathogenic fungus, Cryptococcus gattii, has been causing fatal human illnesses throughout the Pacific Northwest. The fungus, which is known to grow on some species of eucalyptus trees, has killed one on four people in Oregon, and 40 out of 220 people infected throughout the region. While it is not known whether genetically engineered eucalyptus plantations would be a host for the fungus, the fact that some of the GE eucalyptus would have reduced lignin has raised concerns that they could be more susceptible to fungal infection.
Another study by researcher Claire Williams, recently published in the American Journal of Botany, found that pollen from trees remains viable over long distances. [7] This raises concerns about the potential for pollen from genetically engineered versions of native tree species like pines to travel large distances and contaminate forests. Williams' study found that, "GM pine plantings have the potential to disperse viable pollen at least 41 kilometers from the source."
On April 22, during the World Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change in Cochabamba, Bolivia, a broad gathering of Indigenous Peoples, social movements and organizations from around the world, issued a consensus condemnation of transgenic trees (GMO trees) and monoculture plantations. [8]
"Given all of this evidence, the USDA should not even consider approving the release of any genetically engineered trees," insisted Anne Petermann of Global Justice Ecology Project and the STOP GE Trees Campaign. [9] "The fact that there are so many unknowns and no independent studies evaluating the risks of GE trees--which include human health risks and damage to forests and wildlife--is a major reason why the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in 2006 and 2008 urged countries to use the Precautionary Principle with regard to GE trees. The Precautionary Principle would require GE trees to be proven safe before they are released." [10]Washington, DC-- While the U.S. Supreme Court hears its first-ever case involving a... more-
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Are GE eucalyptus trees killing the ecosystems of Tasmania?
This program is about an unlikely alliance between a GP, a group of oyster farmers and a Sydney scientist.
They banded together to investigate mysterious water quality issues in one of the most beautiful areas of Tasmania.
Faced with what they saw as government indifference, local doctor Alison Bleaney and marine ecologist Dr. Marcus Scammell spent tens of thousands of their own money.
What they eventually found was the very opposite of what they expected.
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The above is the description from Part 1 of the report Something In The Water. What these good people discovered through their research is something we cannot ignore. There is a strong chance that the GE eucalyptus monoculture forests planted here are contaminating the water, the animals, the oyster farms, and bringing about cancers in the human population using this water.
After watching this report one cannot help but feel such a sense of urgency regarding the USDA's plan to allow the planting of 260,000 of these eucalyptus trees in the Southern US.
Please watch both parts of this very important story and speak out for truth regarding the planting of these trees in the U.S. This is an environmental catastrophe waiting to happen.This program is about an unlikely alliance between a GP, a group of oyster farmers and... more-
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Invasive GE Eucalyptus Threatens Southern Forests & Water
Groups Force USDA to Re-release Draft Environmental Assessment on Genetically Engineered Eucalyptus Trees for Southern U.S. Forests: Original Assessment Lacked Key U.S. Forest Service Hydrological Studies
The U.S. Department of Agriculture re-released their draft environmental assessment [1] regarding a request by ArborGen, a subsidiary of timber giants International Paper and MeadWestvaco, to plant over a quarter of a million genetically engineered eucalyptus trees in so-called "test plots" across seven southern U.S. states. [2]
"If these invasive GE eucalyptus are planted across the South on this large of a scale, it is highly likely that fertile seeds will escape into surrounding forests," said Dr. Neil Carman, a plant scientist with the Sierra Club. "This is a major problem since eucalyptus is already known for its invasiveness. Once they escape into the forests, there is no way to call them back. It would be an ecological nightmare for southern forests."
The environmental assessment was re-released by the USDA after groups concerned about the environmental impacts of transgenic eucalyptus trees pointed out that the assessment was missing key hydrological studies conducted by the U.S. Forest Service that directly refute the conclusions of the USDA's draft environmental assessment which recommend approving ArborGen's request. The USFS studies point out that eucalyptus trees have heavy water requirements and can seriously impact ground and surface water reserves. [3]
The USDA is seeking public comments on their draft environmental assessment through February 18th, 2010. [4]
"In countries that are already suffering the impacts of large-scale eucalyptus plantations--like Brazil, Chile and South Africa--people have organized massive campaigns against them," stated Anne Petermann, Executive Director of Global Justice Ecology Project and North American representative of the Global Forest Coalition. "This is because eucalyptus plantations have devastated forests and communities. In Brazil, the Mata Atlantica forest has been all but wiped out by eucalyptus plantations. In Chile, communities living near eucalyptus plantations have lost their access to fresh water."
Other new information in the assessment reveals that some of the supposedly infertile engineered eucalyptus trees in existing field trials produced fertile seeds. Eucalyptus is a non-native tree and numerous species of eucalyptus are already considered invasive. This new transgenic (or GMO) eucalyptus has been engineered to tolerate colder temperatures giving it the potential for invading forest ecosystems throughout the South.
"I had hoped that the disaster of kudzu would have taught us the consequences of releasing invasive species into the environment," agreed Scot Quaranda, Campaign Director for the Dogwood Alliance. "Instead, ArborGen wants to release invasive GE eucalyptus trees. Unlike kudzu, however, these trees are not only invasive, they are also highly flammable and use huge quantities of fresh water. California is already spending millions to eradicate invasive and flammable eucalyptus trees. We do not want these invasive trees to be mass-planted in the South."Groups Force USDA to Re-release Draft Environmental Assessment on Genetically... more-
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Alert: help stop release of 260,000 GMO trees in the U.S.
Update: The USDA has reopened the comment period for their Environmental Assessment of ArborGen's proposal to plant 260,000 genetically engineered eucalyptus trees across the Southern U.S. Comments needed by 18 February to oppose this dangerous and destructive plan. They plan to use these trees for bioenergy schemes under the false claim that they will help stop global warming.
Go to:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/975162590
to sign on to the public comment letter.
More information below:
Release of Dangerous Genetically Engineered (GE) Eucalyptus Trees Threatens U.S. Forests/ Communities.
ACTION NEEDED BY 18 February! Tell the USDA NO WAY to ArborGen's Eucalyptus Frankentrees
In an unprecedented move toward commercial large-scale release of GE forest trees in the United States, ArborGen is petitioning the U.S. government for permission to plant an estimated 260,000 flowering GE eucalyptus trees [1] across seven southern U.S. states in so-called "field trials."[2]
The mass-planting of 260,000 flowering GE eucalyptus trees is a major step toward the unregulated development of large-scale GE eucalyptus plantations in the U.S. ArborGen has also requested permission to develop large-scale commercial plantations of GE cold tolerant eucalyptus across the U.S. South which the USDA has not yet ruled on.
Government approval of GE eucalyptus trees will set a dangerous precedent to allow the release of other experimental GE forest trees, including poplars and pines, that would inevitably and irreversibly contaminate native trees with destructive GE traits, devastating forest ecosystems and wildlife. Once GE trees escape, there is no way to call them back.
The only way to prevent the genetic contamination of forests is to ban the commercial release of GE trees before it is too late.
TAKE ACTION!
Tell the USDA that GE cold-tolerant eucalyptus plantations pose an unprecedented threat to U.S. forests, wildlife and communities. Tell them to reject ArborGen's request to plant more than a quarter of a million dangerous invasive GE trees across the Southern U.S. Since these field trials are a concrete step toward unregulated commercial growing of dangerous GE eucalyptus, they must be rejected.
Sign on to the STOP GE Trees Campaign's Comments to the U.S. government
and
Have your organization become a STOP GE Trees Campaign partner and endorse our goal of a global ban on GE trees!Update: The USDA has reopened the comment period for their Environmental Assessment of... more-
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Help STOP GE trees in 2010
As we ring in the New Year, I am writing to give you a quick update about the progress we have made recently with Global Justice Ecology Project's campaign to stop GE trees, and to let you know about our plans for 2010 to prevent the large-scale planting of GE trees in the U.S.
Any day now we expect the U.S. government to issue a ruling to allow the planting of 260,000 GE eucalyptus trees across the U.S. South. With your help, we can stop them through a combination of grassroots organizing, public education and legal avenues.
Your gift will support a tour we are planning throughout the seven states threatened with GE tree plantations to raise awareness about the dangers and organize local grassroots groups to oppose the planting of GE trees.
Please support this critically important campaign with a contribution today. If you have already done so, thank you very much for helping us protect forests, wildlife and forest dependent communities from the devastating release of GE trees into the environment.As we ring in the New Year, I am writing to give you a quick update about the progress... more-
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We are winning the fight against Genetically Engineered trees
Over 17,500 comments against this monstrosity of nature. Let's keep it coming!-
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Sustainable Agriculture Group Monsanto Roundup 2
This is the second of my monthly Monsanto Roundup reports where the news in the world of GMOs and other related issues are disseminated in order that people might have knowledge of what is going on with their food and its effect on health, environment, biodiversity, and sustainabilty.
In this issue we go over Monsanto being a water bully, "Smartstax" GM corn not having the proper environmental assessment, Monsanto being named in 50 cancer lawsuits, African chickens refusing to eat GM maize, and the Cancer Prevention Coalition calling on the FDA to ban Aspartame.
Also, we look into the World Seed Conference now taking place in Rome and the important issue of farmers being denied saving seed which is threatening global biodiversity. We also look into Monsanto in Hawaii, action on GE trees, and the effect of soy monocultures in places like Paraguay.
There is much going on in the race to own food and water as economy, climate change, and resource depletion all bring us to a crossroads where we either stand up for global food sovereignty or we lose it.
We must be prepared. Forewarned is forearmed.
So thanks for watching and supporting this endeavor.
http://current.com/groups/sustainable-agriculture/
Jan
CuratorThis is the second of my monthly Monsanto Roundup reports where the news in the world... more-
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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 linkWhat more proof do we need that this is clearly being done to gain profit at the... more-
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The invasion of genetically-engineered eucalyptus
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. In May, with little consideration of the devastating consequences for our native environment, USDA cavalierly rubberstamped a proposal by a profiteering corporation named ArborGen to do all of the above.
Substantially owned by International Paper, ArborGen shipped tissue from Brazilian eucalyptus trees to its New Zealand laboratories, where it was genetically altered to have more cellulose. New Zealand, however, outlaws plantings of genetically-engineered crops, so ArborGen sought out a more corporate-compliant country: Ours. The engineered eucalyptus was waved right into the good ol' USA to be cloned, and it’s now awaiting final approval for outdoor release in our land.
This has happened with practically no media coverage or public participation. It is happening solely because a handful of global speculators hope to profit by making ethanol from cellulose-enhanced eucalyptus – never mind that their self-aggrandizement would put America's native forests in danger of irreversible contamination by these destructive, invasive Frankentrees.
Luckily, several scrappy grassroots groups have mobilized to bring common sense and public pressure to bear on USDA. For updates and action items, visit www.nogetrees.org.
"Public Overwhelmingly Rejects Genetically Engineered Trees," Stop GE Trees Campaign, July 16, 2009.Here’s a great idea: Let's bring into our country a genetically-engineered,... more-
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The first Sustainable Agriculture Group 'Monsanto Round Up'
This is the first monthly reporting from the Sustainable Agriculture Group on Current of what is going on in Monsanto world and how it effects us, our environment, our health, and our food. I took some stories posted here and elsewhere last month and I give a summary of them. I will also be announcing a monthly site for information that people can read to get more information on GMOs in general. If you have a suggestion for the any sites please send it on to me or list it here. I also mention a couple of activism efforts and some things to look out for in the world of GMOs. I am also going to post some links and videos to augment the video and hope if you are new here or don't know of them that you read them and become informed on this most important topic. While our media continues to feed us celebrity news, the real news is what is happening in the jockeying for position for resources and seeds. And this does and will affect your life, your world, and its biodiversity. So hopefully the information you get here will help you become more aware in ways to avoid GMOS.
Thank you.This is the first monthly reporting from the Sustainable Agriculture Group on Current... more-
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New Zealand raised GE eucalyptus trees intended for U.S. field trials
More than a quarter of a million genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees exported from New Zealand stand to shred New Zealand’s clean, green brand and risk large-scale health and environmental damage, according to the Soil & Health Association of New Zealand.
ArborGen, the (GE) tree research and development giant, which is one third owned by New Zealand company Rubicon (formerly Fletcher Challenge Forestry), is trying to plant 260,000 GE cold tolerant eucalyptus trees in 29 so called “field trials” in 7 different US states. These trees will be able to flower and set seed, and while not permitted to be field trialled in New Zealand have been developed in and exported from New Zealand. They are derived from the hybrid of Eucalyptus grandis X Eucalyptus urophylla (1).
Submissions to the United States Department of Agriculture’s regulatory authority Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) close July 6. (2)
ArborGen and Rubicon have a collaborative GE tree development contract with Crown Research Institute Scion, formerly known as Forest Research Institute. Rubicon has stated that it wants commercialisation of GE forests in New Zealand to have less regulatory impediments.
The development is part of a drive to commercialise a new source of hardwood trees for the US South pulp and paper industry, and the cold-tolerant variety also as a raw material for second-generation wood derived biofuels. Arborgen currently has US government funding for research and development of biofuels. However there is international concern with the use of wood for bio-fuel because of the destructive impacts on biodiversity and on rural and indigenous communities worldwide. GE eucalypts from New Zealand have also been exported to Brazil.
“Such plantings would not be accepted by New Zealanders, but big New Zealand business combined with proven sloppy Scion scientists are prepared to take big risks globally,” said Soil & Health spokesperson Steffan Browning.
“Scion and Rubicon’s involvement with large-scale GE brings shame to New Zealand’s clean, green GE-free reputation.”
“The government must stop the export of genetically engineered plants, animals and products from New Zealand. A clean, green brand does not include products of genetic engineering or participation in planting of new global weeds.”
US environmentalists are also expressing serious concerns, as one parent line of the GE eucalypt hybrid being trialed is a known host for a fatal fungal pathogen CRYTOCOCCUS Gattii. This pathogen has been found in the US and can cause fatal fungal meningitis in people and animals that inhale its spores. It is believed that creating extensive habitats for the fungal pathogen is dangerous and foolhardy.
more at the linkMore than a quarter of a million genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees exported... more-
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