Regulations on genetic engineering combine with restrictions built into green forest certification programs to stymie rapid and innovative use of GMO trees to adapt to climate change and introduced pests, says Steven Strauss, professor of forest biotechnology at Oregon State University.
"With global climate change and the spreading of pests, it's rather urgent we have all the tools we can bring to bear," lead author Dr Steven Strauss from the Oregon State University told BBC News.
In his third-floor laboratory in Richardson Hall, Oregon State University forestry professor Steven Strauss shows off his latest creation: genetically engineered poplar trees that can be propagated in a Petri dish but are incapable of reproducing in the field.
Led by forestry professor Steve Strauss, a team of researchers is out to prove that these aspens were transported hundreds of miles to the Willamette Valley via the Missoula Floods, the ice age deluge that raced across Eastern Washington from Montana, emptying more than 15 times the combined flow of every river on earth in just a few days.
Distinguished professor Steven Strauss offers a guest opinion for the Oregonian. He says "energy versus food crops pose difficult choices for society -- and we need lots of both. The various sources of energy -- fossil and renewable forms -- also have a wide variety of pros and cons. To simplify the complex tradeoffs to a "food vs. fuel" dichotomy does nothing to advance thinking about these difficult issues."