Asheville, NC – 27 May – As the Tree Biotechnology 2013 conference kicked off today, two Asheville residents were arrested after disrupting a major presentation by Belgian tree engineer Wout Boerjan entitled, “Engineering trees for the biorefinery.”
Wout presented at the 2011 Tree Biotechnology Conference in Brazil and commented about anti-GMO protesters being assaulted by the police in a video clip he showed, “they didn’t beat them hard enough.”
The protestors said that if legalized, GE trees would lead to the destruction of native forests and biodiversity in the US South, and be economically devastating to rural communities.
The talk was disrupted for 20 minutes.