Report Back From GMO Tree Industry Conference in Brazil
Thanks to the generous contributions of our members and support from Global Forest Coalition, Global Justice Ecology Project Executive Director and STOP GE Trees Campaign Coordinator Anne Petermann attended the Tree Biotechnology 2011 Conference in Bahia, Brazil where she documented the current state of the development of genetically engineered trees, as well as industry’s plans for their commercialization. Below is the report back from that conference.
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| A “Green Desert” eucalyptus plantation in Brazil. Photo: Petermann/GJEP-GFC |
Petermann blogged daily from the tree biotechnology conference on Global Justice Ecology Project’s Climate Connections blog http://climate-connections.org including two wrap up posts from the conference after it ended.
All of the posts provide a critical analysis of the presentations of the tree engineers and their vision of the future direction of genetically engineered trees.
The first post from Monday, June 28th, reported an overview of high-tech tree breeding of eucalyptus in Brazil by a representative of Veracel, a eucalyptus pulp producer.
Brazil Tree Biotechnology Conference Post #1
Thursday’s blog post was a detailed photo essay by Petermann of a field trip to Veracel’s operations.
Photo Essay from the Tree Biotechnology 2011 Conference Field Trip Hosted by Veracel
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| Veracel Pulp Mill, Bahia, Brazil. Photo: Petermann/GJEP-GFC |
The next two blog posts described and analyzed the keynote presentation by Ron Sederoff, considered the “father of tree biotechnology.”
Tuesday Blog Post: To GM Chestnut or not to GM Chestnut, That is the Question
Wednesday Blog Post from the Tree Biotechnology 2011 Conference: Which Side Are You On?
Also on Tuesday, June 29th, the “Earth Minute,” written and recorded by Petermann about the GE tree conference in Brazil, aired on the Sojourner Truth Show on KPFK Pacifica Radio Los Angeles. To listen to the Earth Minute, click here
The final wrap up blogs from the Tree Biotechnology 2011 Conference featured reports and analysis of the presentations by some of the leading proponents of large-scale commercialization of genetically engineered trees. These posts detail the justifications and public relations greenwash of these GE tree promoters regarding the release of such dangerous GMOs into the wild.
Wrap Up Blog Post from IUFRO Tree Biotechnology 2011 Conference, part I
Tree Biotechnology Conference Wrap Up Blog Post Part II
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| Veracel eucalyptus tree clones. GE tree company ArborGen would like to see hundreds of millions of GE eucalyptus tree clones growing across the US South. Photo: Petermann/GJEP-GFC |
To help us ensure that the forests of the future are not destroyed and replaced by mass plantations of genetically engineered tree clones, please send a contribution to Global Justice Ecology Project’s STOP GE Trees Campaign today.
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Visit the STOP GE Trees Campaign web page at http://stopgetrees.org
