GM grass escapes into the wild, may overtake natural species

Breaking News for Friday, December 05, 2008 Exclusive Video from Generation Rx Film Features Dr. Julian Whitaker on the Drugging of Children GM Crops Climb to Nearly One-Tenth of Global Crop Production Consumer Product Safety Commission Sued Over Allowing Toxic Chemicals in Children's Toys Acidic Diets Cause Bone Loss; Alkaline Diet Protect Calcium in Bones Big Brother DNA Database is Illegal, Rules EU Court      See all Breaking News... FREE Natural Health Newsletter Receive natural health product reviews, recommendations and alerts. Instant download of 20+ free health reports and exclusive interviews. Join over 1.2 million monthly readers. Unsubscribe anytime, email privacy guaranteed Articles Related to This Article: • Gene therapy and genetic engineering: the future of medicine? • The Top Ten Technologies: #7: Genetic Engineering of Humans • Killer Cold Virus: It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature

The grass -- called creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) -- is a hardy strain bred to resist the herbicide Roundup. EPA scientists monitoring the situation in Oregon say the grass could out-compete native grasses in the area, though its impacts on the environment remain to be seen.

The grass, made by Ohio-based The Scotts Company, has the ability to spread rapidly, since it is able to reproduce sexually and asexually. The grass is classified as a "sod-forming" grass, which means it may "outcompete" other species, says Tom Stohlgren, an ecologist at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Institute of Invasive Species Science. "It doesn't need to sexually reproduce -- it's like The Blob. It could potentially hit rare species or national parks."

Experts are concerned that the transgenic grass -- which travels easily because its lightweight seeds can be carried on the wind or stick to animals and vehicles -- could spread to Willamette Valley in Oregon, where the state's grass seed industry produces roughly 70 percent of the grass seeds used in the United States. Willamette Valley is about 90 kilometers from the creeping bentgrass test facility. Stohlgren says the grass would be very difficult to eliminate if it were to infect the valley.

Stohlgren is also worried that the ability of the grass to spread rapidly could pass on the ability to resist Roundup to other grass species. "It's like Darwin on steroids," he says.

"Frankengrass has escaped into the wild," says Mike Adams, a vocal critic of the irresponsible use of genetic engineering technology. "Now we're all about to observe a massive ecological experiment that could go terribly wrong," he says, "much like the introduction of rabbits into Australia. It would be shame to witness the destruction of natural grass species in national parks arising from this myopic effort to make golf courses greener."

###
Get articles like this delivered to you FREE in our popular email newsletter

Related CounterThink Cartoons:

Related Articles: • Gene therapy and genetic engineering: the future of medicine? • The Top Ten Technologies: #7: Genetic Engineering of Humans • Killer Cold Virus: It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature	Take Action: Support NaturalNews.com Email this article to a friend Share this article on: NewsVine | digg | del.icio.us Permalink to this article: http://www.NaturalNews.com/020191.html Reprinting this article: Non-commercial OK, cite NaturalNews.com with clickable link. Embed article link: (copy HTML code below): <a href = "http://www.NaturalNews.com/020191.html">GM grass escapes into the wild, may overtake natural species</a>