134,543 supporters End of campaign: Mar 21, 2018

ArborGen, a U.S.-based biotech lab, is seeking USDA approval for its freeze-resistant GE eucalyptus. If the company is successful, GE trees would open the planet’s temperate zones to the same practices that are devastating the rainforests — replacing natural forests with plantations that, by design, eliminate biodiversity.

To: the President of the United States Donald J. Trump, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service “Genetically modified eucalyptus trees pose a threat to the environment, the climate and humans. They must not be approved in the United States or anywhere else.” Read letter

Many of the forest fires that raged in Chile in January had started in parched tree plantations. 280,000 hectares of land were devastated and 1,500 homes destroyed.

For decades, the operators of pine and eucalyptus plantations have been destroying natural forests and displacing their indigenous inhabitants like Chile’s Mapuche people. Chile's experience is a warning to us:

- The extremely high water consumption of eucalyptus trees contributes to water shortages and forest fires. The plantations use vast amounts of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

- Eucalyptus is an invasive species that causes lasting damage to natural forest ecosystems.

- Monocultures are green deserts that do not offer wild animals a habitat.

- Plantations often destroy the land and livelihoods of indigenous people.

In the past, the spread of eucalyptus plantations was limited by their inability to survive freezing temperatures. Genetic engineering has now made the species hardy enough to thrive in places that were previously too cold. Those regions can now expect the same negative social and environmental outcomes we have seen in Chile.

“The approval of ArborGen’s freeze-resistant eucalyptus would endanger forests in the United States and worldwide,” warns Anne Petermann of the Global Justice Ecology Project.

Fast-growing eucalyptus is in great demand, partly due to the myth that wood pellets are a “green” fuel – thanks to the EU’s misguided climate policy that promotes the burning of biomass.

The United States Department of Agriculture is accepting public comments on ArborGen’s application until the 5th of July. “We want to collect 500,000 signatures to prevent the approval,” says Anne Petermann.

Please sign our petition and support the fight against genetically engineered trees.

In genetic engineering, scientists manipulate the genetic material of a tree by inserting DNA from an unrelated species in order to achieve certain properties: - making the trees freeze-resistant - changing the wood structure to make it more suitable for the production of paper, pulp or biomass - improving the trees’ resistance to pests and diseases Genetically modifying trees is a very new field. Consequently, no one can predict the long-term effects of the manipulations, especially considering that trees live for decades or centuries. For more information, please visit: https://stopgetrees.org/ge-trees/ https://act.credoaction.com/sign/no_GEo_trees?t=2&akid=22957.12945209.aJmdfK Leave your comments to the USDA regarding ArborGen’s application here: https://www.regulations.gov/docketBrowser?rpp=25&so=DESC&sb=postedDate&po=0&D=APHIS-2012-0030 Global Justice Ecology Project: http://globaljusticeecology.org/ http://globaljusticeecology.org/pressroom/ge-trees-in-2016-press-package/ http://globaljusticeecology.org/will-donald-trump-impact-future-of-genetically-engineered-trees/ Observatorio Latinoamericano de Conflictos Ambientales – OLCA: http://www.olca.cl/oca/index.htm http://olca.cl/articulo/nota.php?id=106752 http://blog.cifor.org/34622/growth-in-chiles-plantations-may-have-spelled-growth-in-poverty?fnl=en About ArborGen: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/biotechnology/permits-notifications-petitions/petitions/petition-status https://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/11_01901p_peis.pdf https://www.google.ch/patents/US20120266339 https://ag.tennessee.edu/woodycrops/Documents/ConferenceReports/9thBiennial/5JeffWright.pdf