Statement on The American Chestnut Foundation’s withdrawal of support for deregulation of the Darling 58 genetically engineered American chestnut tree

On December 8th, the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) announced that it is discontinuing its central role in the development of a genetically engineered (GE or genetically modified) “Darling 58” American chestnut tree and withdrawing its support for a petition to deregulate this GE tree in the United States.

TACF’s press release cited “significant performance limitations” and included the stunning admission that, for years, researchers had been running experiments with the wrong tree: “all pollen and trees used for this research was derived not from Darling 58, but from a different prototype, one which contains a deletion in a known gene.” The incorrect pollen and trees were provided by the State University of New York Environmental School of Forestry (SUNY-ESF) which submitted the petition for deregulation of this GE tree to the US Department of Agriculture. The tree was genetically engineered to be blight tolerant but, according to TACF, studies found “striking variability in Darling trees’ blight tolerance, significant losses in growth competitiveness, and increased mortality”.

The following is a statement by Anne Petermann, of Global Justice Ecology Project, for the Campaign to STOP GE Trees.

SUNY-ESF needs to immediately withdraw its petition for deregulation of this genetically engineered tree if they hope to retain their scientific integrity. Incredibly, even with the revelation of this huge mistake, this faulty GE chestnut could still be approved for deregulation if SUNY-ESF refuses to withdraw its petition. Clearly, regulation of GE trees is grossly inadequate and the development of this GE American chestnut tree is a gigantic boondoggle.

NOTE: Click here for the original December 7th, 2023 press release from the Global Justice Ecology Project.