Have your say: Creating doubts

The latest email to the editor.

I agree entirely with those who point out the dangers of some uses of genetic engineering, but when people attack a use that can have no harmful effect whatever on our environment, they simply generate doubts about the validity of their whole argument.
Engineering genes into food plants without ensuring completely that the food produced does not contain harmful chemicals is totally irresponsible.

Deriving plants that poison bees and other useful insects should be declared criminal.
Developing genes that resist disease or sprays in plants that can cross-pollinate with harmful weeds could cost agriculture fortunes.

There is no natural way genes of pines can be passed on to any native species, or any introduced one other than other pines, so I presume that is why Shane Hyde and others come out with comments about plantation forestry.

Replying to some of his points:

1. In a sustainably producing forest, work is continuous. Planting, tending and harvesting go on concurrently each year.

2. Local communities collapsed because unsound economics made farming unprofitable in many remote areas.

3. I agree that export of most of our produce as logs is unfortunate. However, in times when manufacturing jobs in other industries are being "exported", we can't expect this industry to set up unprofitable enterprises. Look at the whole system, not the symptoms.

4. "Our pine forest model totally collapses the ecosystem and violently disrupts the topsoil three or four times every century." On this argument, agriculture has permanently disrupted our ecosystem and cattle farming erodes our clay topsoils for months of every year. In fact, there is little disruption of soil except on lines where logs are pulled out.

Many native plant species flourish under the canopy of maturing stands and birdlife, including kiwi, thrive. Because of the existence of access roads, control of vermin by shooting and trapping is feasible; therefore some rare species survive that could not do so otherwise.

5. Pine wood is adaptable to practically all wood uses. Mr Hyde appears to be unaware that pine furniture is now very fashionable in Europe.

6. The only native timber species that grows fast enough to manage for timber are our beech species in southern areas, kauri and possibly totara in the north.

When making comment in other fields, such as economics, I make sure the data I present is carefully researched and can be substantiated.

John G Rawson
Whangarei

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