In April 2018, a team of NC State faculty and students convened a stakeholder workshop to explore opportunities for public engagement surrounding the development, regulatory review, and potential deployment of a genetically engineered American chestnut tree. As perhaps the first GMO designed to spread and persist in the wild, the tree has the potential to restore a functionally extinct species, but also raises important ethical, political, ecological, and cultural questions. This report describes the workshop and its purpose, details the substance of the discussions, and offers the research team’s perspective on lessons learned and ways forward.

Suggested Citation

Delborne, J.A., Binder, A.R., Rivers, L., Barnes, J.C., Barnhill-Dilling, S.K., George, D., Kokotovich, A., and Sudweeks, J. (2018). Biotechnology, the American Chestnut Tree, and Public Engagement (Workshop Report). Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University. http://go.ncsu.edu/ges-chestnut-report

Corresponding Author
Jason A. Delborne, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Science, Policy, and Society. Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, Genetic Engineering and Society Center, Campus Box 8008, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, 27695-8008. Jason_Delborne@ncsu.edu