The Center for Food Safety (CFS) has published a review on the safety of genetically engineered salmon. Scientists are currently experimenting on more than 35 species of fish. They are using genes from other fish, coral, mice, bacteria, and people to produce new breeds of transgenic fish that grow faster, are resistant to disease, and tolerate wide temperature ranges. The FDA is currently considering GE salmon produced by AquaBounty for approval. The Atlantic salmon has growth hormone from the Chinook salmon and anti-freeze DNA from an Arctic eelpout spliced into its DNA. The fish may grow up to twice as fast as conventionally raised Atlantic salmon. CFS says that the problems with the altered fish start with how government assesses risks. They use old laws and a low level of … [Read more...]
FDA Extending Comment Period for GE Salmon
The FDA is extending the comment period of the environmental assessment of GE salmon by 60 days to April 26, 2013. AquaBounty Technologies, the company that is introducing the genetically modified fish, will have to wait longer for government approval of its product. Almost 30,000 comments were submitted to the Federal Register since it was posted in December 2012. The modified fish will grow twice as quickly as naturally occurring salmon while eating 25% less food. The salmon would be the first transgenic animal to be approved by the government and introduced into the environment and the food chain. Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who opposes the so-called "Frankenfish" released a statement agreeing with the extension. She says that the FDA's decision to move forward in the approval … [Read more...]
GE Salmon: What Can You Do?
We've received several letters from readers who are concerned about the FDA possibly approving genetically engineered (GE) salmon, and what they can do about it. There are many petitions circulating, asking the government to do more studies and reconsider before approving the first engineered animal. You can also contact your representatives in Congress and tell them how you feel about this issue. Wenowah Hauter, Director of Food & Water Watch, has written a book called Foodopoly. In it, she describes some of the potential problems and concerns with what she calls "frankenfish". The salmon is created by inserting the genes of ocean pout, so the fish grows to market size in half the time. Since the FDA has no regulatory process for legalizing these animals, they are using the process … [Read more...]
FDA Moves Toward Approval of Genetically Engineered Salmon
The FDA released its draft Environmental Assessment of AquaBounty's genetically engineered (GE) salmon last week, which is the final step towards becoming the first FDA-approved GE food animal. Many organizations, including Food & Water Watch, oppose GE salmon. The reasons for opposition are many, including lack of scientific rigor and expertise at the FDA, concerns about the ability of the engineered fish to escape into the wild, and concerns about unknown health effects. For instance, Consumers Union is concerned that the process used to create the salmon "substantially alters its composition and nutritional value." Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) sponsored a failed amendment that would have required environmental and economic impact studies of the salmon. And groups … [Read more...]
