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August 14, 2006
Escaped Transgenic Grass In Oregon
By: Rowan Wolf
According to a report in Nature, transgenic grass produced by The Scotts Company has escaped its test plot, and been found almost two miles away. The grass is resistant to Roundup and other herbicides. The bioengineered grass could pose a significant threat both to wild grass species, as well as to the sod industry of the Willamette Valley. Grasses can spread widely and rapidly leading one biologist to state:"We've broken down the barriers — things happen so fast," he says. "It's like Darwin on steroids."
This is not the first time that engineered grasses have posed such a threat. In 1998 a form of Kentucky Blue grass swept trough Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, destroying habitats in its wake. Since the current escapee is also herbicide and Roundup resistant, eradication could be very difficult indeed.
One might wonder at the controls on genetically engineered crops. Since most plants - including grass - reproduces via seed and pollen, growing these crops in an open environment seems foolhardy at best. While they did set up a five kilometer monitoring around the test site, that is hardly a controlled environment. Obviously, the grass did escape. Now that it is out, eradication is questionable.
Posted by Rowan at August 14, 2006 12:25 PM Category: Environment