Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

ISIS Press Release 12/10/05

fishboyAi (rX-[21]:) | 12.10.2005 19:56 | Analysis | Bio-technology | Ecology

ISIS Press Release 12/10/05

UN Cautions Over GM trees

12 Oct 2005 14:01:29 -0000
Subject: [NanoTechnology] UN Cautions Over GM trees



The Institute of Science in Society Science Society
Sustainability  http://www.i-sis.org.uk

General Enquiries  sam@i-sis.org.uk Website/Mailing List
 press-release@i-sis.org.uk ISIS Director  m.w.ho@i-sis.org.uk

This article can be found on the I-SIS website at
 http://www.i-sis.org.uk/UNCaution.php
========================================================


ISIS Press Release 12/10/05

UN Cautions Over GM trees
*********************


Why there must be a moratorium on commercialisation of GM
trees. Sam Burcher

A fully referenced version of this article is posted on ISIS
members’ website
 http://www.i-sis.org.uk/full/UNCautionFull.php. Details here
 http://www.i-sis.org.uk/membership.php

GM trees untraceable

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called for
an international framework to assess the safety of
genetically modified (GM) trees

The increasing use of biotechnology in the forestry sector
has led to the spread of GM tree planting in at least
thirty-five countries. According to the FAO, most research
is confined to the laboratories, but many millions of GM
trees have already been released in open field trials in
China, North America, Australia, Europe, and India, and to a
lesser extent, South America and Africa.

Pierre Sigaud, FAO expert in forest genetics, warns against
rushing into GM tree commercialisation before conducting
environmental risk assessments according to national and
international protocols. He says, "The issue goes beyond
country level since pollen flow and seed dispersal do not
take account of national boundaries and wood is a global
commodity." To counteract cross-contamination from GM trees
to native stands, a robust framework to govern research and
application is essential.

Concerns about contamination from GM pollen and seed drift
is shared by many forestry experts and sustainability groups
such as the Peoples Biosafety Organisation, the Union of
Ecoforesty, the Sustainable World Initiative and the
Independent Science Panel (see "Save our Forests" series SIS
26  http://www.i-sis.org.uk/isisnews.php). Delegates from
these organisations lobbied hard for a moratorium on GM
trees at the UN Forest Forum in New York and the Meetings of
the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP/MOP-
2) in Montreal earlier this year, and at the UN Forest Forum
in 2004 ("GM trees lost in China’s forests" SiS 25
 http://www.i-sis.org.uk/isisnews.php).

Too little, too late?

The FAO interventions may be too little, too late. In 2002,
China became the first country to release GM trees
commercially. The Chinese State Forestry Bureau is unable to
trace the 1.4 million GM poplars (Populus nigra) planted so
far. Nine smaller field trials are underway with Poplar –12
and Poplar –741, engineered to be infertile and pest
resistant.

Plans to increase GM tree plantations in China are being
considered. According to the Chinese Academy of Forestry,
environmental risks from the spread of seeds and shoots from
GM trees are unlikely. If this does happen shoots from
sprouting poplars would be eaten by passing cattle and sheep
or destroyed by farming. This "solution" implies that
transgenic poplars are planted in populated areas, not out
of the way in parched and remote regions of northern China
as a safety measure against contamination, as stated.

The US Department of Energy were first to sequence the whole
genome of the poplar tree. Three other GM tree species
dominate forestry biotechnology research: pine, eucalyptus,
and spruce (picea). These too have been widely planted in
open trials. Applications to field test GM trees in the US
have risen by over 70 percent in fifteen years.

Nano-GM trees next

The Institute of Paper Science and Technology collaborated
with the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge laboratory in
their latest genetic engineering project that uses carbon
nanofibres to inject synthetic DNA into plant cells. Carbon
nanofibres and nanotubes are molecular scale particles; one
nanometre is a billionth of a metre; and one grain of sand
is a million nanometres across.

This technique involves millions of carbon nanofibres grown
sticking out from silicon chips, on which strands of DNA are
attached. Living cells are then thrown against them and
pierced by the fibres, injecting DNA into the cells.
Following this process, the synthetic DNA can then express
new proteins and traits.

There has been a rush to commercialise carbon nanotubes
since their invention in 1991, but very few safety
assessments have been carried out until quite recently, when
they were found in laboratory experiments to be highly
toxic, producing inflammation of the lungs of mice
("Nanotubes highly toxic", SiS 22
 http://www.i-sis.org.uk/isisnews.php). A Royal Society report
in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Engineers stated in
July 2004 that there are uncertainties about the potential
effects on human health and the environment from
manufactured ultrafine nano-particles if they are released.
A EU Nanoforum report likens the shapes of nanofibres to
asbestos fibres and by implication to the morbid effects of
asbestos on human health.

A NASA study reported inflammation of lungs to be more
severe than in cases of silicosis, a respiratory disease
caused by breathing in silica dust. A European Commission
report chronicles the hazards of nanotechnology in detail
assisted by ISP toxicologist Dr Vyvyan Howard (see also
"Nanotox", SiS 21  http://www.i-sis.org.uk/isisnews.php).
Mapping out Nano Risks, explicitly recommends that genetic
modification using nano-technology should be limited to
micro-organisms, "for which containment is possible." Nano-
GM of larger organisms such as plants and animals, which
cannot be contained, must be avoided.

Dr Richard Smalley, a Nobel laureate and chairman of Carbon
Nanotechnology Inc, has ignored these early warnings and is
adamant that his technique poses no threat to health. He
said, "We are confident there will prove out no heath
hazards, but this toxicology work continues."

Micropropagation produces clones

Researchers in India use "micropropagation" to clone plants
from tiny pieces of tissues. Micropropagation is a method
of in vitro vegetative multiplication that bypasses sexual
reproduction and allows selected individuals to be precisely
replicated in vast numbers. The production of millions of
identical genetically engineered plants constitutes the
largest area, 34 percent, of experimental biotechnology
activities in forestry throughout sixty-four countries.

The ultimate goal of this research is to produce patented
manufactured seeds from clones of "model species" that will
enable the quick and easy global delivery of GM tree
products.

Negative impact of monoculture plantations

What environmental impact has replacing diverse native
forests with monoculture plantations had? In Brazil,
ecosystems and traditional ways of life are threatened by
water guzzling tree plantations that pollute and destroy
clean water, habitats, medicinal plants and sacred realms
that intrinsically link all living systems ("GM trees the
ultimate threat", SiS 26) (see box).

A Brazilian government project to sequence the entire genome
of the eucalyptus tree is financed by companies that topped
a poll representing the worst carbon sink project at the
COP9 conference in Milan in 2003. The FAO however,
misguidedly describes the "Genolyptus" project in Brazil as
"cutting edge biotechnological research."

The Brazilian Network Against the Green Desert and their
partner the Latin American Network Against Monoculture Tree
Plantations have designated every 21 September as National
Tree Day since 2004, in support of rural communities that
have been displaced, destroyed or exploited by monoculture
plantations.

In Chile, around one hundred indigenous Mapuche Indians face
trial and prison, due to their actions against forestry
company plantations.

No future for GM trees

The FAO surveyed 65 countries involved in forest
biotechtology, and their responses gave undue emphasis to
the perceived benefits and future of GM trees. Of over four
hundred questionnaires sent out, forty-nine responded, of
which twenty three had conducted research on GM trees.
Respondents felt that the cost of GM trials, intellectual
property rights, and regulations were significant obstacles
to the future of GM trees. Consumer rejection and unease
with GM products were also cited as problems.

Benefits of GM trees were perceived as easier pulping
methods and reduced use of chemicals for the timber
industry, pest and disease resistance, phyto-remediation of
mercury in soil, secondary compounds to pharmaceuticals, and
potential to withstand extreme environmental conditions such
as drought and heat. All of these perceived benefits are not
without problems and require many years of careful
biological and environmental assessment before
commercialisation could be justified (see box). Benefits to
human health scored lowest of all.

The final consensus was that forestry biotechnology
excluding genetic modification is far less costly and
requires much less regulation than traditional means of tree
improvement. The FAO’s proposed framework to assess the
safety of GM trees therefore must acknowledge the
megadiversity of existing forests and the increasing trend
towards recognizing the benefits of multiple uses of forests
that preserves that diversity ("Multiple uses of forests",
SiS 25  http://www.i-sis.org.uk/isisnews.php).

The FAO should support the global moratorium on further
releases of GM trees that has been already launched by a
coalition of civil society organisations
( http://www.wrm.org.uy/plantaciones/RECOMA.html and also ban
the creation of GM trees by means of carbon nanotubes or
other nanoparticles.

Why not GM trees? Break with the Cartegena Protocol on
Biosafety – the first international law to control
transportation of Living Modified Organisms (LMO’s) across
national boundaries Disrupt ecosystems and pose similar
environmental, health and economic risks as GM crops, but on
a larger scale Replace and threaten natural biodiverse
forests that are crucial to stabilising climate and
regulating rainfall Produce faster growing trees that speed
up the return of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and use up
much more water When used to phyto-remediate land actually
re-locate soil mercury from contaminated sites in the south
and deposit them in the north. And return expelled mercury
to the soil in its original toxic state Manipulate synthetic
genes and toxins to alter seed and flowering production
posing threats to human and animal health, as well as
natural biodiversity Increase productivity for timber and
pulp in monoculture plantations that destroy natural
habitats and rural communities which depend on native
forests for food and a multiplicity of other uses Less
fibrous content of trees (lignin) reduces strength,
resistance to pests, and disease. Increased lignin leads to
a build-up of undigested plant material in the soil.

Sources: Save our Forests series, Science in Society 2005,
issue 26 p 14-24  http://www.i-sis.org.uk/isisnews.php


========================================================
This article can be found on the I-SIS website at
 http://www.i-sis.org.uk/UNCaution.php

If you like this original article from the Institute of
Science in Society, and would like to continue receiving
articles of this calibre, please consider making a donation
or purchase on our website

 http://www.i-sis.org.uk/donations.

ISIS is an independent, not-for-profit organisation
dedicated to providing critical public information on
cutting edge science, and to promoting social accountability
and ecological sustainability in science.

If you would prefer to receive future mailings as HTML
please let us know. If you would like to be removed from our
mailing list unsubscribe at

 http://www.i-sis.org.uk/mailinglist/unsubscribe.php
========================================================
CONTACT DETAILS

The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 32097, London
NW1 OXR

telephone: [44 1994 231623] [44 20 8452 2729] [44 20
7272 5636]

General Enquiries  sam@i-sis.org.uk Website/Mailing List
 press-release@i-sis.org.uk ISIS Director  m.w.ho@i-sis.org.uk

MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM
WITHOUT EXPLICIT PERMISSION.
FOR PERMISSION, PLEASE CONTACT  enquiries@i-sis.org.uk



fishboyAi (rX-[21]:)

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech