Webinar: Who is Behind the Genetically Engineered American Chestnut?
Rural Coalition, representing over 50 community-based organizations working in diverse land-based communities across the nation, has raised concerns over many years about protecting the health of forests and grasslands. On April 24, 2019, we shared with you an advanced notice of the release of a groundbreaking white paper on Genetically Engineered American Chestnut Trees by the STOP GE Trees Campaign.
We now invite you to view the digital telepress conference that originally aired May 14, 2019, featuring speakers from the Global Justice Ecology Project, BiofuelWatch, Indigenous Environmental Network, Rural Coalition, and Lois Breault-Melican: former board member of the American Chestnut Foundation. The panel discusses the findings of the white paper, the response from Indigenous groups, and the resignation of American Chestnut Foundation board members.
Please see the GJEP webinar details below.
CONTACT: +1.314.210.1322
steve@globaljusticeecology.org
WEBINAR DETAILS
TELEPRESS CONFERENCE
“Who is Behind the Effort to Legalize Genetically Engineered American Chestnut Trees and Why it Matters"
Scathing new White Paper on GE American chestnut trees, Resignation of American Chestnut Foundation Board members, response from Indigenous groups and who is funding the research will be discussed
WHAT: A national network of organizations, scientists, naturalists, farmers, Indigenous Peoples and others will hold an online telepress conference to discuss the findings of their recently released white paper titled, Biotechnology for Forest Health? The Test Case of the Genetically Engineered Chestnut, which addresses the effort to win government approval for the unregulated planting of genetically engineered American Chestnut trees in the wild.
BiofuelWatch’s Dr. Rachel Smolker, co-author of the white paper, is one of the telepress conference speakers. A recent debate between Dr. Smolker and proponents of the deregulation plan occurred during NPR’s April 29th On Point program.
Lois Breault-Melican, a former board member of the American Chestnut Foundation who publicly resigned over the organization’s support of the plan will join the conference.
WHO: Global Justice Ecology Project, BiofuelWatch, Indigenous Environmental Network, Rural Coalition, and Lois Breault-Melican: former board member of the American Chestnut Foundation.
WHERE: View here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfP4cJ4J1do
WHY: “UN scientists are about to issue a scathing 1,800 page report on the dire state of the environment,” stated Anne Petermann, GJEP Executive Director. “At the same time, corporations and researchers are promoting the unregulated release of new, unproven GE trees into forests. Our new white paper highlights the risks of this plan. These transgenic trees are ‘totally outside the limits of biologic experience’ to quote Rachel Carson, who warned of the devastating impacts of the hundreds of new, unproven and ultimately dangerous chemicals entering the environment every year. We must not repeat the same mistake and make the ecological crisis worse by releasing GE trees into forests.”