Groups from around the world today joined together to denounce the US government for allowing the first genetically engineered tree, a loblolly pine, to be legalized with no government or public oversight, with no assessment of their risks to the public or the environment, and without regard to overwhelming public opposition to GE trees.
Tell the USDA that GE freeze-tolerant eucalyptus plantations pose an unprecedented threat to forests and wildlife in the US and around the world. Tell them to reject ArborGen’s request to commercially sell billions of GE eucalyptus trees.
Progress Energy and Florida Power Embrace EcoGen’s Plans to Generate Electricity from Non-native Eucalyptus Plantations in the Southern US
Major shake up at ArborGen, the company trying to release GE Eucalyptus in the Southern US. Groups opposed to release include Dogwood Alliance, Global Justice Ecology Project, Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club and more.
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.
