So this is a bit niche even for enviro-nuts like me but if you're down to sign petitions, this one could use it. Tell SUNY ESF to drop their partnership with the dangerous, unproven, and disrespectful "Darling 58" genetically modified chestnut tree makers SilvaBio.

If you read "The Overstory," you may be familiar with the tale of chestnut trees in North America: afflicted by an invasive blight and then prematurely chopped down by panicking white people, to the extent that chestnut trees almost went extinct. Now this private company has been working with ESF to develop blight-resistant trees, but even though their results are poor, and even though indigenous communities of the northeast, such as the Onondaga Nation, have been urging a traditional breeding approach, and even though SilvaBio's stated intent to sell the trees for profit is in conflict with ESF's mission for "all people... to propagate them for personal or restoration use," ESF has been sticking with SilvaBio.

#trees #ChestnutTrees #Darling58 #SUNYESF #SUNY #NewYork #NYS #NYpol

https://globaljusticeecology.org/chestnut-pr-2025-1/