International Paper Treads Monsanto’s Path to ‘Frankenforests’

[Grinchie]

Source: Bloomberg.com

Plantations of engineered trees would give International Paper a competitive advantage by providing a reliable supply of lower cost wood at a time when timberlands are dwindling because of development, said David Liebetreu, the Memphis, Tennessee- based company’s vice president of global sourcing. Opponents are concerned that alien genes may contaminate natural forests, echoing objections to modified crops that Monsanto still faces.

“There is a potential to explode once they get these trees approved,” said David Knott, who manages $1.3 billion as chief executive officer of Dorset Management in Syosett, New York. He said he increased his stake in Rubicon to 70.5 million shares this year to bet on ArborGen because it has a customer base of large landowners and little competition. “This could take off faster than Monsanto.”

Monsanto’s genetics, which were first sold in herbicide- tolerant soybeans in 1996 and insect-resistant corn the following year, were used in 88 percent of the world’s 309 million acres of biotech plantings last year. Monsanto’s sales of seeds and genetics quadrupled since 2002 to $6.4 billion last year.

Increasing Risk

Engineered eucalyptus trees could be an ecological disaster, bringing increased fire risk and extraordinary water consumption to a new environment, said Neil J. Carman, an Austin, Texas-based member of the Sierra Club’s genetic engineering committee. Easier-to-pulp trees will be weak, and hurricanes will spread their pollen and contaminate native forests, he said.

“These are Frankenforests,” Carman said. “You are tampering with Mother Nature in a big way by putting genetically engineered trees out there.”

The group won a court order in 2007 requiring Monsanto to pull modified alfalfa plants from the market while the USDA reviewed their environmental impact more thoroughly, and Carman said a similar strategy may be used against modified trees.

ArborGen says that genes won’t spread because its trees grow on plantations, not in forests, and are engineered to be infertile with impaired pollen production.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aEHNB_XJRWGU

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GMO Forests already exist in a big way, and what is not spoken of is the allergic reactions to pollen from these forests, that dump tons into the atmosphere virtually all at the same time.

http://www.ecoworld.com/nature/genetic-engineering-look-before-you-leap.html.

First the settlers cleared their land by burning it, then selling the resultant ash to for that manufacture of Potash for farm crops. Then when the forests dwindled, the farmers turned to Potash for mineral sources, while the settlers now wondered why their land was depleted after shipping off centuries of stored nutirents in the form of ash for a quick buck.

The following 9 year old report will provide some background on how widespread this issue is. Pay attention folks, our natural BioDiversity is at stake. The Doomsday clock is ticking.

[Sebastian Doyle]

1. This why we need to enforce the law that says corporations must serve some sort of public good

And then MonSatan needs to be taken down immediately and made an example of, for all the harm they have brought to the planet.

[WriteDown]

2. I know in NC they use fast growth pine for timber....

Trees grow to full height in 5 years. Then they're cut and replanted. Amazing stuff.

[HillbillyBob]

5. I live in NC in the north central part and haven't seen any trees growing

at that rate. Where do they grow these and what variety are they?
I have been around papermills and seen manage pine forest all my life and this is the first I have heard of it.
If they are using genie frankenpine around here I would like to know who is and to put a stop to it.
I have a small place that has mixed woods on it and I sure as hell do not want any frankenplants on my property.

[WriteDown]

6. Frankenpine?

These are trees that have been bred for their fast growing, straight lumber qualities. This was in SE NC near Wilmington, Lumberton, etc. I would be more worried about kudzu if I were you.

[HillbillyBob]

7. We are plenty worried about the kudzu another bright

lets get rich quick idea that was an utter failure, the cows those folks planned on fattening on kudzu would not touch it. We have enough trouble keeping down poison ivy, imported honey suckle and kudzu here at our place.
We do not need to turn anything else loose.
Eucalyptus is so very flammable due to its oil content.
That is what helps it survive the very dry out back areas of Australia.
Its done a major number on the glades too.
I used to have a sales round that wound down from Ft Pierce to Key West then back up to Miami and out the Tamiami trail. I have seen those fires up close and personal too close.

[WriteDown]

10. The problem wasn't so much the cows as the fact...

that it was promoted as an erosion cure for years by the US Gov. Law of unintended consequences .

[Grinchie]

15. I guess you've never looked at the quality of wood they produce...

Fast growing trees have extremely wide growth rings, making the wood unsuitable for many purposes other than stick frames for McMansions and paper pulp.

Of course, the same acreage planted in Hemp would produce a far superior fiber for paper than fast growing pine in any circumstances.

As usual Writedown, I am not surprised that you sneakily try to defend GMO Forestry, without coming right out and saying that you Love the DLC and all the Corporate loving it gives to the mighty Corporations for the Almighty Dollar God.

[WriteDown]

16. So you'd rather use Oak and Hickory and....

other old-growth wood? Interesting.

[Grinchie]

17. Yes, Unfortunately nobody ever plants Oak or Hickory..

They would rather plant GMO, Patented Clones in vast Monocrops so one guy in a Machine can process 40 acres a day single handledly.

Unfortunately for you, I use old growrh wood nearly every day, but it was cut over 50 years ago, and has been salvaged from the Bulldozer because the jerks in todays society would rather crush it to splinters than salvage wood that was living before you or I were even born. When I was a child, I grew up in L.A. and watched huge Bungalows dismantled by Mexican Laborers, piece by piece, loaded onto truckes, and carted away to Mexico to be rebuilt. In the 70's, a thing called a bulldozer became ubiquitous and cheap. After that point, these beautiful houses were destroyerd completely. No salvages was attempted, and at all was removed to the landfills. This is the mentality that people like you cling to. You haven't a clue about reclamation of recycle other than the 10 cents you can get on your Diet Pepsi can.

It's pretty clear that you don't have any incliniation or skill of a craftsman who has watched the forest gradually be replaced with shadows of what they once were in the pursuit of the Almighty Dollar God. Unless you work with wood, you won;t have a clue about what I'm talking about, and somehow make a strawman that I stated that Old Growth Oak or Hickory is appropriate for all construction tasks, which it isn't, and you know it.

No, you've got it wrong, there are no old growth oak and hickory stands anymore. Everything you see is secondary growth. Because people stupidly deforested the Primary forest ages ago for Potash, and then wondered why their land never recovered when the ashes were hauled away for a few bucks that lasted over the winter.

Your fast Growing pines come at a very heavy price.

[WriteDown]

18. People decimated old growth forests due to demand for

woods like hickory and oak which you seem to have. I have no such demand. Given the success of businesses that specialize in reclaimed wood your assertions seem a little off. I put in reclaimed hardwood floors about 2 years ago, came from a school gym of all places and then we handscuffed them.

[HillbillyBob]

3. This could pave the way for some gigantic forestfires

that could endanger us all. First they do no provide food for wildlife. Second Eucalyptus burn like a freakin match. They also will spread by roots as they do in fla. Remember the fires in the everglades during the droughts?
Those were mainly fueled by eucalyptus and maleluecca, both imported from Australia to dry up the swamps..before any of the greedy idiots realized we Need the Everglades for drinking water peculation through the floor of the glades to the aquifer.

What is wrong with us that we have to be such gluttons of Earths resources? Are we that selfish and short sighted? Rhetorical question.

We all need to be doing the reduce reuse, recycle, replant, repurpose..I know what we can do with the greedy corpses, bury them now so they can be oil in a few million years God knows they are fat enough.

We started years ago recycling, I learned to drive during/after the 73 oil embargo, so I have always been frugal with my fuels. I always try to make several trips in one and plan a round with the fewest left turns so as not to sit at lights or stop signs.

[Rex]

4. Ruuun...the trees are alive and man are they pissed!

I just saw Billy Ray get torn in half by a mean ass Oak! RuuunnnN!!!

[Vidar]

8. Monsanto: Corporation of the Apocalypse!

[JonQ]

9. Can't have people messing with mother nature

I'll stick with the natural paper forests, where the original trees have long since been cleared away and instead we grow a mono-culture of evenly spaced fast growing pines.

[windoe]

11. There are crimes against the Earth.

And Monsanto tops the list of criminal companies.

[scarletwoman]

12. What about hemp for paper? Why can't we make paper without using trees?

Come the Revolution, one of the very first targets for takedown needs to be Monsanto, along with ConAgra and ADM. Left to their own devices, they'll utterly destroy the natural world for profit. I think they are more insidiously evil than Big Oil.

sw

[Crowman2009]

13. The industries tied to lumber are getting in the way of this happening.

Because once hemp comes around, their will be almost no tress to cut down.

[Crowman2009]

14. The industries tied to lumber are getting in the way of this happening.

Because once hemp comes around, their will be almost no tress to cut down.