… the price to pay will be high!!
Submitted by Zuri on Fri, 06/14/2013 – 21:55
Genetic engineering of food crops has been a stealth technology, introduced with little public debate and arriving on grocery shelves unlabeled. Now another application of genetically engineered (GE) agriculture is sneaking up on us – the production of transgenic trees by paper and lumber companies.
The possibility that the new genes spliced into GE trees will interfere with natural forests isn’t a hypothetical risk but a certainty.
During our lives, genetic engineering may do as much damage to forests and wildlife habitat as chain saws and sprawl.
Corporations, as Milton Friedman pointed out, exist not to be ethical but to make money. And from the standpoint of a forestry company, wildlife habitat has very little value.
“Growing the bottom line” is what such companies try to do, and among their strategies are clear cutting…