Group of Scientists Back Biotechnology Research
12/13/99
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Forestry scientists plug biotechnology
Source: Environmental News Network
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 13, 1999
Byline: John Roach
The application of biotechnology to forestry holds the potential for
trees that grow faster, require the use of fewer chemicals in pulp
and paper production and thus has less of an impact on the
environment, according to forestry scientists.
The scientists published a commentary in the December issue of Nature
Biotechnology that condemns actions taken by environmental activists
to halt research into forest biotechnology and outlines the potential
benefits of the technology.
"What we have to do in this debate is separate real risks from
pseudo-risks and do the scientific research which can clearly move us
forward in a safe, progressive manner," Steven Strauss, a professor
of forest science at Oregon State University and co-author of the
paper said in a statement.
The commentary was sparked by an anti-biotechnology protest staged by
Genetic Engineering Free Forests, a London-based organization, at a
July meeting of the International Union of Forestry Research
Organization at the University of Oxford in England.
At the meeting the forestry scientists drew up a position statement
on the benefits and risks of genetically modified crops and
plantations. The statement was then ratified by 99 percent of the
voters.
In their statement, the scientists say that field trials are a
critical part of the research needed to establish the value and
safety of the technology and can be conducted responsibly.
That is in direct contrast to the view held by environmentalists.
During the meeting, vandals destroyed the only field trial of
genetically modified trees in England - a field of poplars with
modified wood chemistry growing outside of London.
The forestry scientists believe that biotechnology would allow for
fast growing plantation forests that would help the forest products
industry meet demands that have grown by as much as 300 percent in
the last 25 years without having to harvest native forests.
"The IUFRO Working Party hopes that their position statement will
help to bring sound science to bear on this discussion as it plays
out within forestry, and will stimulate further research to ensure
that the vast potential for genomic engineering of forest plantations
does not go untapped," the commentary concludes.