SPECIAL REPORT
Genetically Modified Microbes : The New Invasive Species
by Jeffrey Smith for Protect Nature Now
On
Christmas day in 1859 , the Victorian Acclimatization Society released 24 rabbits into the Australian countryside so settlers could hunt them for sport . But rabbits multiply like ... well ... rabbits . By the 1920s , the 24 grew to more than 10 billion . A well-intentioned gesture to make settlers feel more “ at home ” now costs the government $ 600 million per year .
This is just one example of an invasive species on one continent . Other expensive lessons come from imported kudzu , cane toads , eucalyptus trees , foxes , rodents , and so many more . When an invasive species enters an ecosystem , the results are unpredictable , sometimes catastrophic .
What then could be the impact of an entirely new organism — one that has never existed on this planet ? There is no need to invoke UFOs when synthetic biology provides plenty of alien examples .