GE American Chestnut
New Hype on Old Studies Misleads about GMO Chestnut Tree
Experts Challenge SilvaBio Claim That Genetically Engineered American Chestnut Tree Has Been “Validated”
“Massive Uncontrolled Experiment” Heading for Our Forests?
A renewed push to release GE trees into U.S. forests is gaining momentum—and it should alarm anyone who cares about the future of wild ecosystems.
Sign On to Demand No GMO Chestnuts in Our Wild Forests
Industry and researchers want the USDA to approve a defective GMO American chestnut tree for planting in wild forests.
Sign-On! Protect Wild Forests from Genetically Engineered Trees
I oppose the release of genetically engineered trees into wild forests.The proposed use of genetically engineered American chestnut trees, such as Darling 54, raises serious ecological, scientific, and ethical concerns. The D54 has significant problems, including poor growth and high rates of mortality.
Releasing genetically engineered trees into the wild would introduce irreversible risks. Trees live for generations and spread pollen over long distances, meaning engineered traits could permanently alter native forest ecosystems in ways that cannot be undone.
Long-term impacts remain unknown, yet the consequences could last for centuries.
There is no need to take these risks. Non-genetically engineered approaches—including traditional breeding and natural regeneration—are already showing promise in restoring American chestnut populations without introducing novel genetic changes into the wild.
Forests are complex, living systems that require precaution and respect. Once genetically engineered trees are released, they cannot be recalled.
For these reasons, I reject the release of genetically engineered trees into wild forests and support restoration approaches that protect ecological integrity.
Signed, [Name] [Affiliation, if applicable]
The Story of the Wild American Chestnut Making a Comeback in Maine
Our short film documents the thousands of thriving, wild American chestnut trees on the land of renowned biologist Dr. Bernd Heinrich—contradicting decades of assumptions about the species’ decline.
How do GE Trees threaten the American Chestnut?
Genetically engineered (GE) trees are an untested and unpredictable technology that threatens not only the biodiversity of our forests but also the ecosystems that depend on them.
Right now the USDA has issued a draft decision recommending deregulating the genetically engineered American chestnut tree for unmonitored and mass release into our wild forests.
The GE chestnut offers a stark example of the dangers associated with the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into our natural environments.
SUNY-ESF’s botched research to create a GE American Chestnut
Researchers at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) have genetically engineered an American chestnut tree to be blight-tolerant, and are asking the US government to approve it for unrestricted planting in the wild. The promise of “restoring” the American chestnut through genetic engineering comes with great risk. It also threatens the decades-long efforts of chestnut conservationists in Canada and the US who are working to recover the wild American chestnut by supporting the reproduction of existing trees that exhibit higher blight tolerance and breeding trees using non-GE methods.
If approved, this genetically engineered tree would be the first-ever GE plant released with the purpose of spreading freely through wild ecosystems. Its release would be a large-scale experiment, and there will be little or no potential to track or reverse its spread.
The failed attempt to restore the American chestnut through genetic engineering raises critical concerns about the potential consequences of these interventions, which are based on insufficient research and reckless optimism.
170,000+ Demand USDA Reject Proposal for Release of Genetically Engineered American Chestnut Into Wild Forests
More than 170,000 individuals, as well as more than 440 organizations worldwide—rose up to oppose the release of the defective genetically engineered American chestnut tree known as Darling 54 (D54) into wild forests.
“Opposition to the release of GE trees into our forests is growing in incredible ways. People are standing up to clearly reject, not just the USDA’s plan to unleash an unproven and unstable GE tree into wild forests, but also this first-ever attempt to allow a genetically engineered, sexually reproducing plant to spread in the wild where it could contaminate wild relatives. The ecological risks of this for-profit scheme are far too great and the science is fundamentally flawed… …The ethics of SUNY-ESF’s plan to collaborate with a for-profit company to make money from the sale of these defective trees to the public is also extremely troubling.” – Anne Peterman, Executive Director of GJEP
The American Chestnut Foundation was a long-time partner with SUNY-ESF to develop the GE American chestnut, but withdrew when it became evident that the trees had serious problems. Yet according to TACF’s own website,
“Even after sharing [our] profound concerns about a SUNY-ESF exclusive license with American Castanea Inc [now SilvaBio], SUNY-ESF offered a variety of high-cost proposals to TACF, all of which continued to demonstrate their interests in using D54, a transgenic tree TACF considers unsuitable for restoration, as a means to fund their programs.”
Darling 54 represents a high-risk ecological intervention never tried before. GJEP’s comments highlight fatal flaws in both the tree’s genetic design and the approval process, including:
- Flawed, incomplete science and testing–as called out by TACF
- Violations of the precautionary principle
- Disregard for Indigenous sovereignty and consent (in violation of NEPA)
- Conflicts of interest tied to plans with SilvaBio to mass-clone and sell the D54
The USDA APHIS must listen to this overwhelming public opposition. The future of our forests must not be sacrificed for flawed science and corporate profit. The overwhelming response from the public and civil society makes it clear that the USDA must:
- Reject the petition to deregulate the Darling 54 GE American chestnut
- Require a full life-cycle ecological and social risk assessment of all GE trees that come before them.
- Support an Office of Inspector General investigation into SUNY-ESF’s GE chestnut program and its plans to work with the for-profit SilvaBio company to mass-clone and sell the documented defective D54 American chestnut.
- Support non-GE chestnut restoration rooted in sound science, biodiversity, and Indigenous knowledge
“This isn’t a restoration project, it’s a genetically flawed science experiment poised for commercialization at the expense of our forests,” said Anne Petermann of Global Justice Ecology Project. “We are appalled that the USDA is seriously considering approving this risky GE tree when they know it is based on ten years of flawed research and has exhibited severe problems in controlled field tests. The forests deserve real science, not flawed experiments. The American chestnut deserves restoration, not commodification.”
Heather Lee of the Campaign to STOP GE Trees added,
“the university researchers at SUNY ESF should withdraw their application because the D54 GE chestnut they seek to deregulate fails to work as promised. The USDA should immediately reject this profoundly risky proposal from researchers who have been careless with their GE research material and are engaged in a dispute over field test results. Independent researchers from several institutions have found the D54 to have significant problems, which researchers at ESF reject as ‘exaggerated or misleading’. Clearly they cannot be trusted with a project of this magnitude.”
They Tested the Wrong Tree—For Nearly a Decade
The initial petition was submitted in 2020 by the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) but then revised in 2024 when a major research error was uncovered. The research was backed by The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) until December 2023 when TACF announced the error and major performance limitations observed in field tests.
Researchers discovered that the GE trees they had been studying for over seven years were not the “Darling 58” GE American chestnut described in the petition—but Darling 54, a separate and severely compromised variant. In Darling 54, a critical gene, SAL1, had been deleted during the genetic engineering process. They suffered from stunted growth, high mortality rates, and failure to resist chestnut blight.
TACF’s review of the test data found that these GE trees often fared worse than their non-GE siblings. Despite these negative results, SUNY-ESF continues to pursue deregulation—and minimize the problems.
“Growth retardation, health issues, and cankering of Darling trees continue to be observed and documented across multiple sites, including [SUNY-ESF’s] own orchards,” TACF stated on their website. “These issues are seen specifically in OxO-positive [GE] trees… The stark contrast cannot be explained by growing conditions.”
In a June 2024 statement in a New York Intelligencer article, then President of TACF, Dr. William Pitt drew attention to SUNY’s lack of transparency about the error. “To this day, we’ve never heard anything directly from ESF,” says Pitt, the American Chestnut Foundation’s president. If Tan and Klak (third party scientists) hadn’t shared their findings, Pitt wonders if ESF ever would have “told us, told the public, told anyone.” “As a nonprofit organization, we can’t hide things from our members or the public. If we wouldn’t have brought this out, we would be complicit with a cover-up.”
Commercial Interests vs. Public Interest
Meanwhile, SUNY-ESF has signed a commercial licensing agreement with for-profit corporation American Castanea Inc, which plans to mass-clone and sell millions of Darling 54 trees using AI-driven propagation methods—turning what was pitched as a public ecological project into a private biotech venture.
A Dangerous Precedent for Genetically Engineered Forests
This proposal is about more than one tree. Groups warn that corporations like ArborGen and Duke Energy in the US, and Suzano in Brazil, are watching closely, hoping this deregulation opens the door to widespread planting of GE trees for industrial use—biomass, carbon offsets, pulp, and more.
“The GE chestnut is a Trojan horse,” said Dr. Rachel Smolker, director of Biofuelwatch. “It’s being used to normalize GE trees for profit—not for restoration.”
Key Reasons to Reject the Darling 54 Petition:
- It’s the wrong tree: The data submitted to USDA is from the Darling 54—not the originally proposed Darling 58.
- It’s genetically damaged: In Darling 54, the insertion of transgenes deleted an important gene (SAL1). These trees have weakened resistance, high mortality rates, and abnormal growth.
- It’s irreversible: Once planted, GE American chestnuts can interbreed with and spread defective traits into wild American chestnut trees, and nuts and pollen can spread engineered DNA into native ecosystems.
- It’s driven by profit: What started under the guise of a public restoration effort is being converted into a private revenue stream.
- It sets a dangerous precedent: Deregulating this GE tree for planting into the wild paves the way for the release of other genetically engineered products including commercial forest species.
- Careless mistakes by researchers
Stay Informed:
Download the major white paper Biotechnology For Forest Health? The Test Case of the Genetically Engineered American Chestnut or read the Executive Summary
Listen to a podcast on the Failure of the GE American Chestnut with Anne Petermann and Dr. Donald Davis (February 2024)
Articles
Earth Island Institute (2025): Darling 58 “Lessons from the Unsuccessful GM Chestnut Experiment”
Earth Island Journal (2025): The Darling 58 Debacle: Failed attempts to genetically engineer the American chestnut tree are a warning against rash solutions to complex problems.
New York Times (July 2024): NY Times: How Do You Restore a Chestnut Forest or an Apple Orchard? Very Slowly
New York Times Magazine (May 2024): New York Times Magazine: The Problem With Darling 58 The fight to save America’s iconic tree has become a civil war.
GM Watch (December 2023): The American Chestnut Foundation pulls support for failed GM American Chestnut tree
GM Watch (November 2023): After years of hype, researchers temper expectations for GM American chestnut tree – reveal unexpected problems
Press Releases and Testimonies
Campaign to STOP GE Trees (June 2025): USDA Poised to Approve Release of Genetically Engineered Trees Based on Botched Research
Campaign to STOP GE Trees (July 2024): Press Release: Global Justice Ecology Project requests USDA, Office of Inspector General to investigate SUNY GE American Chestnut debacle
Campaign to STOP GE Trees (March 2025): The Dangers of GE Trees: The Case of the American Chestnut Tree
Report
EcoNexus (August 2024): Genetically Engineered American Chestnut: Discussion of the performance limitations of Darling 58/54
Other
CBAN (February 2024 – Fact Sheet):Introduction to the Genetically Engineered American Chestnut
CBAN (February 2024 – Letter): Read the letter the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network and Canadian Chestnut Council sent to SUNY-ESY
Latest News
International Day of Forests – A Good News Forest Comeback Story
A Good News Forest Comeback Story: The Wild American Chestnut Is Returning Watch the film for the International Day of Forests (March 21st) What if the American chestnut isn’t a lost species after all? On the land of renowned naturalist Bernd Heinrich in Maine,...
Wild American Chestnuts Making a Comeback in Maine – New short film airs Dec 4
Our short film documents thousands of thriving, wild American chestnuts on the land of renowned biologist Dr. Bernd Heinrich—contradicting decades of assumptions about the species’ decline. Register to watch the film here:...
TAKE ACTION: FSC Consultation to help STOP GE Trees (deadline Sept 28)
FSC Consultation on GMO Definition Deadline Sunday, September 28, 2025The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) prohibits FSC member companies from using GE trees for commercial purposes, in certified or non-certified areas. FSC’s prohibition exists because the risks and...
Stay Connected
Learn about groups collaborating to prevent the regulatory approval of GE trees in North America including Biofuelwatch, Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, Global Justice Ecology Project, Indigenous Environmental Network, Rural Coalition and Shawnee Forest Defense.
Contact heather@globaljusticeecology.org for more information or to help stop the release of GE trees into the environment
Review results from USDA 2022 public comment period:
In November 2022 the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published their draft Environmental Impact Statement and draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment recommending approval of the petition to allow the unrestricted and unmonitored release of the first-ever GMO plant (a GE American chestnut) into the wild with the intent to spread and contaminate wild relatives.