[APWG] NEWS: Conservation Strategies Must Shift with Global Environmental Change

Fri Feb 1 21:27:50 CST 2008

Hi Jil:

Thank you for your email.  You ask the following question:

"Would you please provide me some examples of the genetic modification you
refer to? I would like to learn more about it and compile examples of well
documented incidences of this."

I am not sure what you are asking for here.    The transgression of
"kingdoms" I am referring to is when genetic engineers deliberately combine
DNA between plants, animals, and/or bacteria and viruses.  There are
thousands of examples.  They are documented in published patent
documentation (available online).

Perhaps you are concerned with contamination of other plants by genetically
modified plants.  (I know I am.)  First, however, here is a general overview
of transgenic crops:

http://www.attra.org/attra-pub/geneticeng.html#what

To quote from that article: "Genetic engineers manipulate DNA, typically by
taking genes from one species—an animal, plant, bacterium, or virus—and
inserting them into another species, such as an agricultural crop plant."

So, as you can see, transgenics is generally summed up as combining genes
between unlike species.  But the mingling of human, animal, plant and viral
genes is not really best described as trans-species.  It's trans- GENUS, and
trans- KINGDOM.

It takes an act of violence (bioballistics or electroporation) or the use of
pathogenic vectors to overcome the strict safeguards nature has in place
against this ever happening.  These methods are also described in the
article linked above.

I maintain that ferrying across these sacred borders that define genera and
kingdoms is much more serious than the dissemination of natural seeds from
one geographical location to another.  It threatens the very organizational
integrity and regenerative potential of life forms on this planet.

Here's some isolated examples of transgenic ventures.

Ventria bioscience has a patent on a strain of genetically modified
rice.  Here is an abstract published on their own website:

http://www.ventria.com/collaborators/2001-TransgenRes.asp

The abstract in the link above begins by explaining how it is done: "Using a
particle bombardment-mediated transformation, a codon-optimized synthetic
gene for human lysozyme was introduced into the calli of rice".

Is the remaining DNA  stable?  Is any natural structure stable after holes
are blasted into it?  Does human lysozyme belong in rice?

They are planting the rice in open fields in Kansas:

http://www.ethicurean.com/2207/12/01kansas-pharma-rice

Is it really so impossible for this rice to find a way to contaminate wild
rice?  Do toronados exist?  Can rice not travel in the mail or in cars with
people and get transferred to other areas?

Enough about rice.  Let's talk about corn.  Here is the abstract for Ignacio
Chapela's original article in Nature reporting contamination of wild corn
landraces with DNA from genetically modified corn:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=pubmed&uid=11734853&cmd=showdetailview&indexed=google

His report was contested.  Here's his reply:

http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=ENV&recid=5358439&q=chapela+IH+transgenic&uid=792094149&setcookie=yes

There are also plants that are being used as cheap factories to grow out
drugs (insulin, vaccines) and industrial chemicals.  This is not being done
in laboratories.  It's been doing in open fields.

And then there's "terminator seed" technology (already patented), designed
to theoretically help limit horizontal gene transfer (another topic) as well
as force farmers to re-purchase seed each year by engineering plants to
produce sterile seed.  How useful does that sound?

While food crops are the topic of the patents, the genetic transgressions
are affecting wild plants, soil fertility and insect pollinators.  Cornell
researchers, for example, have found that pollen from GE corn is harmful to
larvae of the monarch butterfly.

http://biology4.wustl.edu/bio3041/Loseyetal1999.pdf

All of this is living, mutating, hybridizing, reproducing and can not be
called back.   It's already happening, it's been happening, and it is
continuing to proceed at an increasingly rapid pace.

This is a large topic and there is so much more to be said.    Thank you for
your question.

best regards,

Gena

Gena Fleming, MS, LAc
genafleming at gmail.com
www.plantbyplant.com

On 01/02/2008, Jil_Swearingen at nps.gov <Jil_Swearingen at nps.gov> wrote:
> Gena,
>
> Would you please provide me some examples of the genetic modification you
> refer to? I would like to learn more about it and compile examples of well
> documented incidences of this.
>
> Feel free to reply to the whole list-serve if you like.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Jil
>
> Jil M Swearingen
> Invasive Species Specialist
> National Capital Region IPM Program
> Center for Urban Ecology
> 4598 Macarthur Blvd NW
> Washington DC 20007
> 202-342-1443, ex 218
> 202-282-1031 fax
> www.nps.gov/plants/alien
> www.ma-eppc.org
> www.nps.gov/cue
>
> Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
>
>
>
>                      "Gena Fleming"
>                      <genafleming at gmail.com>              To:       "Bob
Beyfuss" <rlb14 at cornell.edu>, apwg at lists.plantconservation.org
>                      Sent by:                             cc:       (bcc:
Jil Swearingen/NCR/NPS)
>                      apwg-bounces at lists.plantconse        Subject:  Re:
[APWG] NEWS: Conservation Strategies Must Shift with Global
>                      rvation.org                           Environmental
Change
>
>
>                      02/01/2008 11:07 AM CST
>
>
>
>
>
> Amen to this.  Worrying about invasive plants distracts us from more
> central issues.
> The central issue I am most concerned about is not the introduction of
> plants from other geographical areas, but the deconstruction and invasion
> of genomes by foreign DNA (genetic modification).  Transgressing  sacred
> boundaries of natural kingdoms is going to create a lot more problems than
> Chinese plants in Louisiana.
>
>
>
> On 01/02/2008, Bob Beyfuss <rlb14 at cornell.edu> wrote:
>  This is the best article I have ever seen cited on this list serve.
>  People
>  need to wake up the the fact that virtually every ecosystem on this
>  planet
>  is now dramatically different than it was even 50 years ago due to human
>  activity on a global scale.  Efforts to "restore" ecosystems that have
>  been
>  altered by irreversible global changes, such as doubling the carbon
>  dioxide
>  levels in the atmosphere and rising temperatures, are a huge waste of
>  money
>  and resources. Invasive plants are just one of the many symptoms of these
>  changes yet we declare "war" on alien, exotic, species that "menace" us
>  as
>  though killing off these plants will somehow solve the problem.
>
>  At 10:06 AM 2/1/2008, Olivia Kwong wrote:
>  >http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080131101747.htm
>  >
>  >Conservation Strategies Must Shift With Global Environmental Change,
>  >Ecologists Urge
>  >
>  >ScienceDaily (Jan. 31, 2008) . Traditional ecosystems in which
>  communities
>  >of plants and animals have co-evolved and are interdependent are
>  >increasingly rare, due to human-induced ecosystem changes. As a result,
>  >historical assessments of ecosystem health are often inaccurate.
>  >Scientists are now suggesting that efforts should focus less on
>  restoring
>  >ecosystems to their original state and more on sustaining new, healthy
>  >ecosystems that are resilient to further environmental change. Accepting
>  >some permanent changes may increase health of ecosystems.
>  >
>  >See the link above for the full article text.
>  >
>  >
>  >_______________________________________________
>  >PCA's Alien Plant Working Group mailing list
>  >APWG at lists.plantconservation.org
>  >
>
http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org
>
>  >
>  >Disclaimer
>  >Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY the
>  >opinion of the individual posting the message.
>
>
>
>  _______________________________________________
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>  APWG at lists.plantconservation.org
>
http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org
>
>
>  Disclaimer
>  Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY the
>  opinion of the individual posting the message.
>
>
>
> --
> Gena Fleming, MS, LAc
> www.plantbyplant.com
> _______________________________________________
> PCA's Alien Plant Working Group mailing list
> APWG at lists.plantconservation.org
>
http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org
>
>
> Disclaimer
> Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY the
> opinion of the individual posting the message.
>
>

-- 
Gena Fleming, MS, LAc
www.plantbyplant.com
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