“If these GM loblolly pines are released on a large scale in the US, there will be no way to stop them from cross contaminating native loblolly pines,” warned biologist Dr. Rachel Smolker from the group Biofuelwatch.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has quietly given a green light to the world’s first genetically modified (GM) tree species, recommending that its developer pursue unregulated commercial cultivation of the artificial plant without safety testing or a proper environmental impact assessment.
Though experts warn that the GM tree will spread its contaminated pollen for hundreds of miles, the USDA, in a secret letter exposed by Center for Food Safety scientist Doug Gurian-Sherman, says regulation isn’t necessary. According to the USDA, ArborGen’s GM loblolly pines don’t represent a pest threat, and thus aren’t under its jurisdiction.
“APHIS has determined that loblolly pine itself is not a plant pest, no organisms used as sources of the genetic material to create the trees are plant pests, and the method used to genetically engineer the loblolly pine does not involve plant pests,” reads the letter. “Therefore APHIS does not consider the trees… to be regulated under 7 CFR part 340.”