Genetically Engineered Chestnut Rift Widens

NOTE: The following Press Release is from the Global Justice Ecology Project. The Global Justice Ecology Project coordinates, administrates, and fundraises for the Campaign to STOP GE Trees.

Press Release: Genetically Engineered Chestnut Rift Widens

American Chestnut Foundation calls for SUNY-ESF to withdraw USDA petition and claims Darling 58 GE chestnut may “compromise future generations of disease-resistant American chestnut populations”

For Immediate Release January 11, 2024

A reported gaff by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) that led to field testing a wrong variant of the controversial genetically engineered American Chestnut since 2016, led The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) to announce on Dec 8, 2023 that it was withdrawing support for SUNY-ESF’s petition to deregulate its Darling 58 genetically engineered American chestnut trees. Such deregulation would permit an unprecedented release of genetically engineered trees into the wild to intentionally contaminate wild trees.

The deregulation petition was submitted to the USDA’s Animal Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) by SUNY-ESF in January 2020. Until its Dec 8^th announcement, TACF had been a vocal supporter and collaborator in the deregulation process. But now the rift between the former allies has grown as TACF calls for SUNY-ESF to withdraw its permit while stating that SUNY-ESF’s line of GE American Chestnut Trees is ineffective and “may compromise future disease-resistant American chestnut populations.”

It should be noted that opponents have long argued that a GE American Chestnut could threaten the survival of wild American Chestnuts, which according to Dr. Heinrich are making a comeback.

In a December 24, 2023 interview with Global Justice Ecology Project’s Communications Director, TACF Chief Conservation Officer Sara Fitzsimmons stated that, “we think ESF should pull the petition,” adding, “if you look at ESF’s response to our position, you’ll see that we have more information about performance and about what the product is doing than ESF does.”

(Below: Screen Shot 1/10/24 from TACF Website)

In a December 24^th Washington Post article, Fitzsimmons expressed concerns over a lack of candor by SUNY-ESF after TACF learned of the mix-up not from SUNY-ESF but from researchers in Maine. “It’s not that the mistake was made,” she said. “It’s that we weren’t told about it.”

Fitzsimmons similarly told GJEP during its December 24, 2023 interview, that “trust has been breached” regarding the gaff that led to years of research being done on the wrong variant since 2016. She did though not rule out working with SUNY in the future if they could “get back on footing.”

Regardless of the possibility of future cooperation, TACF is calling on SUNY-ESF to withdraw their petition to the USDA (APHIS) due to poor performance as well as the potential for compromising other populations of disease-resistant American chestnuts, which are claims long made by opponents of the GE American Chestnut.

“If these GE chestnuts had been approved by USDA in the timeframe hoped for by researchers at SUNY-ESF and TACF, these defective GE trees would  already be in the forests spreading their faulty pollen and contaminating remaining wild American chestnuts, threatening their ultimate survival,” stated Anne Petermann, Executive Director of the Global Justice Ecology Project. “This whole fiasco with the Darling 58 is a major red flag about ongoing plans by TACF and ESF to genetically engineer trees for release into forests.”