----- forwarded message ----- Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 11:22:32 +0200 From: secr <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: 70 PROTEST GENETIC ENGINEERING OF TREES ----- forwarded message ----- Subject: [EF!] 70 PROTEST GENETIC ENGINEERING OF TREES Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2001 21:41:19 -0700 From: radtimes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 Subject: 70 PROTEST GENETIC ENGINEERING OF TREES Check out other coverage: http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/32359_trees23.shtml http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=27408 http://www.tidepool.org/features/GMTrees.cfm http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/32487_trees24.shtml 70 PROTEST GENETIC ENGINEERING OF TREES Monday, July 23, 2001 By GREGG HERRINGTON, Columbian staff writer STEVENSON -- Saying there is no way to stop the effects of genetically engineered trees from doing damage worldwide, 70 people from as far away as Vermont gathered in the Columbia River Gorge on Sunday to protest an international biotechnology conference. "Why let the genie out of the bottle?" asked Anne Petermann of the Native Forest Network in Burlington, Vt. "We want a global ban on genetically engineered trees." As the protesters stood at the entrance road to the Skamania Lodge, golfers 50 yards away teed off on the par three 17th hole. Guests inside the lodge could not see the rally. Scattered around the inn on the hillside overlooking the Columbia River were 15 to 20 Skamania County deputies and Washington State Patrol troopers. Another 20 Clark County deputies were in the area but out of sight, ready in case the protest turned ugly and they were needed, said Skamania County Sheriff Chuck Bryan. "We're here to protect this facility and the people," Bryan aid. "We're not here to stifle the right of free expression." The extra police weren't needed. Save for a few profanities shouted by a couple of speakers at the rally, the protest was orderly. The weeklong conference, featuring scientists and forest industry people from around the world, is about "tree biotechnology in the new millennium," according to the conference brochure. "Genetic technologies have the clear potential to provide" more trees from less space that are better able to withstand disease, it said. Supporters of genetic engineering say science can develop trees as row crops for specific purposes, such as making paper, thereby saving natural forests from logging. But the protesters, who have established several anti-genetic engineering groups across the country, each with its own Web page, see nothing good coming from this science or the Skamania County conference. "They would put genetically engineered trees into parts of the world where native forests have been cleared," said Petermann. "Soils would be stripped of nutrients. Indigenous people would be displaced. Insecticides would be exuded into the soil, impacting good and bad bugs. Eventually you get pesticide-resistant insects." In essence, the protesters said in interviews, they fear that even if science successfully creates new strains of trees for specific purposes, it will be impossible to prevent the pollen from spreading to natural forests and orchards. Then, the strengths and weaknesses of the genetically engineered trees will spread to native trees, they argue. Genetic engineering "is being paid by companies that care about their profits first and foremost," said Craig Rosebraugh, who describes himself as a spokesman for the Earth Liberation Front but not a member of the group. "I've learned not to trust the various corporations." Perhaps some of the protesters' antagonism toward the scientists gathering for the conference was eased when Steve Strauss of Oregon State University walked to the rally and engaged several protesters in discussion for at least an hour. One of his tree-growing projects at OSU was targeted by Earth Liberation Front vandals in March. "People should have concerns about biotechnology," Strauss said. "I have concerns. It has to be done right." As Strauss was talking with three or four protesters, the rally continued 20 yards away with chants, folk songs and banners, the largest one saying, "Biotechnology: Giving pollution a life of its own." ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
