Paper manufacturers and environmentalists seem to be reliving Robert Frost’s age-old dilemma caused by two roads diverging in the woods.
Proponents of genetically engineered trees say the road they’ve chosen will lead to trees capable of weathering freezing temperatures and disease — trees that can grow more efficiently on less land and possibly serve as a cheap source of biofuel. In addition, supporters say, genetic engineering holds the possibility of bringing some trees back from the brink of extinction.
But critics in the environmental community say the path chosen by the paper industry won’t save a single forest from the chainsaw. They fear that test-tube trees may become invasive, destroying the forests they’re meant to protect.
“There is a lot of hype about transgenics with people fearing that they could be bad in any context,” said Steven Franks, a botanist with Fordham University in New York. “I don’t really think that’s true, that they’re always bad.”
Regardless of their applications, few genetic engineering projects — such as adding pest resistance to agricultural crops or mixing and matching genes between two separate animal species — have managed to escape criticism entirely.
There are a few scattered plots of genetically modified poplars in the Pacific Northwest, and scientists have used engineering tools to create papaya trees that are resistant to a widespread viral disease. So far, however, genetically engineered trees remain a small-scale industry.
For many environmental groups, the fork in the road for genetically engineered trees is a single species of eucalyptus designed by the corporation ArborGen, a research collective with links to International Paper and other large paper producers.
ArborGen has already planted 300 acres of this eucalyptus, a cross between two Australian natives that the company hopes can better withstand freezing temperatures, across the Southeast U.S. The South Carolina-based corporation is asking the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to let it plant more.
The agency published a draft assessment of this proposal on May 8, recommending approval. But both sides are awaiting a final decision.
What has groups like the Stop GE Trees Campaign worried is that ArborGen will allow these trees to reach reproductive maturity, or flower.
The corporation has taken steps to ensure that the eucalyptuses won’t be able to reproduce. But if some of the trees do manage to disperse, they could begin to encroach into native forests, said Neil Carman, a plant science advisor to the Sierra Club, which has joined the campaign.
Wayward bees could also take pollen from the genetically engineered trees to unmodified eucalyptuses planted for pulp nearby, potentially crossbreeding the two, Carman said.
“It’s very risky ecology to be putting out a perennial tree like this,” he said. “Once it escapes, that’s it.”
The tall and fragrant eucalyptus is no stranger to controversy. This group of trees is infamously fire-prone and requires large amounts of water to grow.
