From Truth Out: http://truth-out.org/news/item/16663-hundreds-protest-genetically-engineered-eucalyptus-trees-in-north-carolina
By Mike Ludwig
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Protests are raging outside of a biotechnology conference in Asheville, North Carolina, where demonstrators are voicing opposition to proposals to grow genetically engineered eucalyptus trees across the southeastern United States.
Hundreds of demonstrators marched outside the Tree Biotechnology 2013 conference on Tuesday, and organizers said the protest was the largest against genetically engineered trees yet. On Monday, two Asheville residents were arrested after disrupting a presentation at the conference, according to a release from activist groups.
The protests come just days after an estimated 2 million people joined protests against biotech giant Monsanto in countries across the world.
Two major sponsors of the biotechnology conference in Asheville, FuturaGene and ArborGen, have proposed to introduce genetically engineered eucalyptus trees for commercial cultivation in the United States and Brazil. The trees would be burned as a source of biomass energy.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently considering a petition to allow the planting of ArborGen’s eucalyptus trees, which are genetically engineered to tolerate freezing temperatures so the trees can be grown in the southeastern US and other climates that can be too cold for normal eucalyptus.
Opponents say the tropical, genetically altered trees would threaten native species and turn forests into mono-crop fuel generators.
“ArborGen is genetically engineering non-native eucalyptus trees to be freeze tolerant to feed ethanol refineries and biomass burners under the umbrella of climate mitigation,” said Anne Petermann, executive director of Global Justice Ecology Project. “They want to convert biodiverse and carbon-rich forests into vast plantations of invasive, flammable and water-draining eucalyptus trees. This will be a disaster for the climate.”
Continue reading at: http://truth-out.org/news/item/16663-hundreds-protest-genetically-engineered-eucalyptus-trees-in-north-carolina
