On Thursday I read a
really interesting article in the scientific magazine “Nature”. The article
is about genetically modified eucalyptus that produces 20 % more wood and it
takes one year and a half less (five and a half years instead of seven) for it to
be ready for harvest. This topic caused a lot of discussion.
Figure 1: Eucalyptus plantations near
Sᾶo Paulo in Brazil
Eucalyptus is a kind of tree originally from Australia, but
it is grown also in Latin America (see Figure 1). On 4 September there
will be a public hearing about genetically engineered eucalyptus and if Brazil
gets the approval we can expect to see this kind of plantations in other parts of
the world in the near future. This would be the first case of deployment of
genetically modified trees from a major commercial species on a large scale.
According to the author of the article Heidi Ledford, “the
ubiquity of Eucalyptus makes Brazil’s decisions on the modified trees a special
concern to environmental activists who oppose the use of genetically modified
crops.” The activists opposed will urge Brazil’s National Technical Biosafety
Commission to reject the trees presenting a letter signed by 259 organizations
at the meeting scheduled for 4 September.
The trees were developed by FuturaGene, a biotechnology firm
from Israel, later bought by Suzano Pulp and Paper of Sᾶo Paulo, Brazil.
FuturaGene’s chief executive Stanley Hirsch assures that there are environmental
benefits of this creation, but his reassurances have not convinced everyone.
Some of the opposed activists think that genetically modified trees need more
water and extract more nutrients from the soil. Furthermore, they remain in the
environment for years.
GMOs are a hot topic today, with many pros and cons. We will
see what the 4 September meeting produces and which side presents stronger
arguments.
Hi, Giuseppe! As you said, I think it's one of the interesting article and I realized a lot of information while reading your blog. I like that you explain what Eucalyptus is and also described what author says well. But I recommend you to explain little more detail about the topic you've chosen and put your address sources on your blog next time. Good-job!
ReplyDeleteGreat jog Giuseppe :-) I found your blog really interesting! I loved it how you explained that genetically modified Eucalyptus produces 20% more wood and takes it a year and a half less to be harvested. I found it fascinating how you said where Eucalyptus is from. You also used great scientific terminology in one of your sentences :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting article Guiseppe! It's really great that people are trying to help restore some of the damage that's been done to our planet by turning to science to see what they can do. The scientific terminology you used was great and it's super cool that we can now do things like this in the modern world.
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