Soil and Health comment on GE Tree application

Scion and ArborGen's GE Tree Application Open for Submissions

Kia ora

as anticipated with our earlier media releases, Scion's application to field trial thousands of GE trees at Rotorua is now notified by ERMA for public submissions. From scanning through the application and appendices, Scion intends to use a ~4ha site, grow the trees up to 8 years each, the trial having a 25 year consent. No height limit and using ladders and cherry pickers to check for reproductive structures at which time the tree is to be felled.

• Terminator gene technology is intended although still hotly debated internationally as to its acceptability.

• The application is intended for thousands of experimental GE trees with a very wide variety of GE experimental options.

• Previous study of environmental effects at Scion's GE tree field trial site was inadequate, brief and as yet the research is not academically peer reviewed or published.

• The risk of pollen drift is heavily downplayed in the application, yet will be the obvious main risk, and on past Scion practice is a likely outcome.

• ERMA state that controls mean that pollen drift is unlikely. ERMA stated the same for the Plant & Food GE brassica application, but leakage happened there. Scion have already had pollen catkins appear unexpectedly on poorly managed GE tree seedlings at the Rotorua site.

• Maori consultation has given a mixed level of support with some strong objection and questioning of the appropriateness of this technology in New Zealand.

• Herbicide tolerant trees will only aggravate the already OTT use of herbicides in NZ forestry should the technology be commercialised here as Scion and its USA partners intend. International GE tree giant ArborGen is nearly totally USA owned, with even the 3rd share of ArborGen by NZ company Rubicon more than 80% USA owned. The other 2 ArborGen components are by huge USA companies.

• The overt partnership with ArborGen places Scion and hence New Zealand internationally as instigators of a new environmental threat. Opposition has been strong in several parts of the globe, with the strongest direct action being the 2006 destruction of millions of GE eucalypts in Brazil by 2000 local women.

• GE trees are seen as riskier than GE crops because of their longevity and strong position in ecosystems

• Soil & Health - Organic NZ will be opposing the application and has previously exposed several issues of non-compliance by Scion at its Rotorua GE field trial site.

• This application has been seen as having an assured approval by ERMA as Scion had already been preparing an intended field trial site although denying it previously. The site may change.

ends

© Scoop Media