GJEP Executive Director Anne Petermann has a new article in Earth Island Journal called “The Darling 58 Debacle”. It details the disaster of the defective D54/58 genetically engineered American chestnut tree submitted to the USDA for unregulated release into forests. The article also warns about using genetic engineering on wild organisms like trees that have deep and complex interactions with countless other species in the forest.
Article Excerpt:
LATE ONE FRIDAY evening in December 2023, the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) issued a stunning press release announcing the end of a years-long effort to genetically engineer a disease-resistant American chestnut tree.
For years, researchers have been trying to figure out a way to save the tree, an iconic North American species that has been devastated by blight. But the modified trees that the foundation was experimenting with, dubbed “Darling 58,” were defective. Their growth was stunted, they had lost their ability to fight off disease, and many of them had died. For proponents of genetic engineering (GE), the news was a major setback. To those of us who prefer less extreme measures, however, it was a reprieve.
Yet researchers still want this defective GE tree in our forests! Take action by sending an email demanding researchers end this folly!
Click here to send an email: https://stopgetrees.org/stop-
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