[Pil-pc-oceania] Fwd: GM gum trees

[Robyn Williamson]

With apologies for cross-posting from the Sustainable Agriculture 
Network SANET-MG discussion list, I just thought that people might be 
interested in knowing that an overseas company called ArborGen is 
attempting to genetically modify a species of Eucalyptus for cold 
tolerance and other traits.  I haven't been following the GM debacle of 
late because I am not qualified to comment and it seems to me the horse 
has already bolted through the GM gate anyhow.  I can only send out an 
SOS to save our seeds - start now.

In the forwarded message APHIS refers to the Animal & Plant Health 
Inspection Service, a part of the United States Department of 
Agriculture.  Professor Joe Cummins is a Canadian academic and one of 
the independent scientists who will present comprehensive evidence to 
the European Parliament on 12 June calling for a European and worldwide 
ban on the release of GM organisms.  "Oilseed rape" is the plant from 
which "Canola" is derived.

Begin forwarded message:

> Date:    Mon, 21 May 2007 16:35:04 -0400
> From:    jcummins <jcummins at UWO.CA>
> Subject: GM Eucalyptus
>
> I prepared the following reply to comments that showed up today, the
> last day for comments, on the Eucalyptus EA review by APHIS.
> 21 May 2007
>
> Prof. Joe Cummins
>
> Reply to comments from an academic
>
> One academic commenter made the following accusations: ìSome opponents
> claim that one of the traits utilized by ArborGen is being kept
> confidential. Although the Federal Register Notice described one trait
> as confidential, this was not the case for the EA itself, where all the
> traits are described. This objection leads me to believe that these
> commenters did not actually read the EA. The intent of publishing the 
> EA
> is to engage the public during the review process. Commenters are
> encouraged to avail themselves of this opportunity.î
>
> Reply to the comment: The normal definition of trait In genetics, a
> trait refers to any genetically determined characteristic The commenter
> somehow seems unaware that the characteristics such as cold tolerance
> which are mentioned in the APHIS environmental assessment do not really
> go into whether or not the characteristics are , indeed, genetic traits
> Genetic traits should have been identified by their genetic
> characteristics and certainly their transgenic origin. Gosh, academics
> do seem to get arrogant!
>
> ìMany opponents called for full disclosure of the genes utilized by
> ArborGen. While disclosure of genes should be encouraged, this must be
> balanced against the need to protect intellectual property (IP). The
> development of biotechnology- derived products is an expensive endeavor
> (in part due to the need to meet rigorous regulatory requirements). As
> such, it is of utmost importance that IP be protected in order to 
> ensure
> and encourage continued investment in the technologyî
>
> Reply to the comment; Intellectual property is normally protected by
> patents and patent applications and ArborGen has previously disclosed
> their genes in their patent and patent applications. Patent 
> applications
> and Patents must be public in order for the system to work. APHIS seems
> silly in colluding with corporations to hide information that is
> publicly available in patent applications, patents or publications. At
> any rate, many if not most undergraduate laboratories and certainly
> corporate laboratories can easily read the crops genetic code to 
> uncover
> the genetic modification. Indeed, the traceability of the transgenes in
> the environment is aborted by the careless use of the CBI designation.
> The CBI designations seem to be political tools and pretenses to avoid
> public scrutiny.
>
> ì? Opponents also called for disclosure of the field-trial location.
> There are many examples of tests that have been vandalized, resulting 
> in
> the loss of years of hard work and valuable data. Hence, site security
> is an important consideration, and is justified.î
>
> The public deserves to know locations in their neighborhood where 
> things
> that may hurt them are located. Corporations should deal with any
> possible vandalism by providing on site security on their test plots.
> Site secrecy is not for vandalism, I believe, but to protect
> corporations from lawsuits from injured neighbors.
>
> ì? In a couple of comments, Barnase is described as a toxin. There is 
> no
> information in the EA that indicates whether or not barnase is one of
> the genes being studied. Even if Barnase is in the ArborGen trees, it
> has been included in other products that have been deregulated by 
> APHIS,
> as well as being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration on
> numerous occasions (for use in corn, oilseed rape, and chicory).î
>
> Reply to the comment; Barnase does appear in one patent application by
> ArborGen for control of flowering in Eucalyptus, as indicated in my
> earlier comment. Any claim by APHIS, or for that matter, from FDA that
> barnase is not toxic to human cells fails to acknowledge a large body 
> of
> publications where, for example, barnase is used in the targeted
> ablation of human cancer cells. The point of my original comment was to
> point out the danger to the public in failing to acknowledge to the
> public that toxins were being employed or, even worse, to deny that the
> toxins were being used. Unfortunately, APHIS , corporations and much of
> science academia seem to regard the human public as being convenient
> white mice for their experiments. Holding back the truth is essential 
> to
> maintaining a docile herd.
>
> ********************************************************
>
CONTACT DETAILS:

Robyn Williamson
PDC, Urban Horticulturist
Local Seed Network Coordinator
NORTH WESTERN SYDNEY COMMUNITY SEED SAVERS
mobile:  0409 151 435
ph/fx:  (612) 9629 3560
http://www.seedsavers.net
http://www.communityfoods.org.au
http://www.communitygarden.org.au
http://www.bidjiwongcommunitynursery.org.au
http://www.permaculturesydneybasin.org.au