Statement on The American Chestnut Foundation’s withdrawal of support for deregulation of the Darling 58 genetically engineered American chestnut tree

Campaign to STOP Genetically Engineered Trees

For Immediate Release December 12th, 2023

Contact: Steve Taylor +1.314.210.1322 | steve@globaljusticeecology.org 

Statement on The American Chestnut Foundation’s withdrawal of support for deregulation of the Darling 58 genetically engineered American chestnut tree

On December 8th, the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) announced that it is discontinuing its central role in the development of a genetically engineered (GE or genetically modified) “Darling 58” American chestnut tree and withdrawing its support for a petition to deregulate this GE tree in the United States. 

TACF’s press release cited “significant performance limitations” and included the stunning admission that, for years, researchers had been running experiments with the wrong tree: “all pollen and trees used for this research was derived not from Darling 58, but from a different prototype, one which contains a deletion in a known gene.” The incorrect pollen and trees were provided by the State University of New York Environmental School of Forestry (SUNY-ESF) which submitted the petition for deregulation of this GE tree to the US Department of Agriculture. The tree was genetically engineered to be blight tolerant but, according to TACF, studies found “striking variability in Darling trees’ blight tolerance, significant losses in growth competitiveness, and increased mortality”.

The following is a statement by Anne Petermann, of Global Justice Ecology Project, for the Campaign to STOP GE Trees.

SUNY-ESF needs to immediately withdraw its petition for deregulation of this genetically engineered tree if they hope to retain their scientific integrity. Incredibly, even with the revelation of this huge mistake, this faulty GE chestnut could still be approved for deregulation if SUNY-ESF refuses to withdraw its petition. Clearly, regulation of GE trees is grossly inadequate and the development of this GE American chestnut tree is a gigantic boondoggle. 

The original press release from the Global Justice Ecology Project is below:

For Immediate Release December 7th, 2023

Contact: Steve Taylor +1.314.210.1322 | steve@globaljusticeecology.org 

After years of hype, researchers temper expectations for genetically engineered American chestnut tree – reveal unexpected problems

Coalition of groups call on US Department of Agriculture to reject deregulation

New York – During a recent webinar called a “Chestnut Chat,” organized by the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF), GE chestnut researchers walked back earlier promises and projections for restoration of the American Chestnut through the use of genetic engineering.

During the “Chestnut Chat” several startling admissions were made including that the “Darling 58” (D58) GE American chestnut tree is not the silver bullet once promised for restoration. It was revealed that the tree grows more slowly and shorter than once thought, blight tolerance is not reliable, and field trials are limited in their ability to reflect real life conditions.

In light of these revelations, the Campaign to STOP GE Trees is calling on the USDA to reject the deregulation of the Darling 58, genetically engineered American chestnut.

“For years, the American Chestnut Foundation has been overpromising this genetically engineered tree as the best way to save the American chestnut,” said Lois Melican, who resigned as President of the Massachusetts-Rhode Island chapter of TACF over TACF’s support for GE trees. “Now they admit that things are not going well with it. It is clear the USDA must not deregulate this GE tree. That is the only safe and reasonable action given the limitations and uncertainties being acknowledged by the researchers themselves.”  

In the early 20th century, the American chestnut, a keystone species in eastern forests, was decimated by an introduced blight. Researchers at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) are using genetic engineering methods to try to create a blight-tolerant American chestnut tree. In 2018, SUNY-ESF petitioned the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) for permission to release their “Darling 58” (D58) GE chestnut into wild forests to intentionally cross with wild trees and self-spread. This would be the first time that a genetically engineered plant is released to purposefully spread in the wild. USDA-APHIS has not released a final decision.  

Originally researchers argued that the process of USDA deregulation would demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the blight tolerant GE chestnut. Now that problems are being identified with the GE tree, researchers admit they need deregulation to enable them to test out the tree in wild forest conditions. Researchers also confirmed that they are seeking deregulation of the D58 because it will ease deregulation of future GE American chestnut trees with other GE traits.

“With all of the acknowledged problems the D58 chestnuts have, the USDA must not deregulate them. If these faulty GE trees are planted in our forests, their experimental GE seeds and pollen will inevitably and irreversibly contaminate wild American chestnuts growing in the forest.” said Anne Petermann of Global Justice Ecology Project. “Far from ‘restoring’ the American chestnut, the deregulation of the GE chestnut could spell their ultimate demise. 

“The only ethical move by the D58 researchers, knowing these GE trees have problems that they don’t understand, is to withdraw their petition to the USDA for deregulation of the D58.”

The Campaign to STOP GE Trees is a North American and International coalition of organizations with a mission to prevent the large-scale release of genetically engineered trees into the environment.

The Campaign published a white paper on the issues and concerns with genetically engineering the American chestnut: Biotechnology For Forest Health? The Test Case of the Genetically Engineered American Chestnut (2019)