Genetically modified salmon could soon be making its way to your dinner plate, if the Food and Drug Administration grants final approval to a proposal from a Massachusetts bio tech firm.
The fish, dubbed "Frankenfish" by its critics, is Atlantic salmon that has been modified with a growth hormone from Pacific chinook salmon and a gene from an eel-like fish known as ocean pout. The modifications result in a fish that matures twice as fast as regular Atlantic salmon.
Would you be comfortable eating genetically modified salmon? Tell us in the comments section.
The FDA has already determined the fish, created by AquaBounty Technologies, poses no health or environmental risk, according to various media reports. The proposal is now under a 60-day period of public review—the final hurdle to FDA approval.
The genetically modified fish tastes like regular salmon, meaning consumers probably will not be able to tell the difference—and ABC News reports the FDA is unlikely to require special labeling for the fish.
Meanwhile, Washington is one of several states with pending initiatives on required labeling for GMOs—genetically modified organisms. Initiative 522 would require any food sold in Washington state and made with genetically engineered crops to be labeled.
If you're concerned about the effects of the gene itself, consider the fact that the gene could have just as easily come from cows or chickens--an animal you already eat. Individual genes in cooked foods aren't perilous. For people who just want salmon or even just fish and don't need top notch virgin ocean wild caught organic never-frozen salmon, this may just do fine. The fewer people putting demands on our existing ocean stock, the better chance it has to survive. My biggest concern is the possiblity a creature like this has of getting into an established wild environment and dominating over already supressed species. If this is a purely farmed or is soundly proven to not be an environmental aggressor, I say bring it on.
How does the Federal Agency know what the genes and hormones of Frankenfish will effect us in 5, 10, 20 years. From the news reports the Frankenfish cannot reproduce.
I guess I better stick to fishing for the fish I eat....what is this world coming too? Stop playing in the laboratory......This won't better the world.
On a less severe note, what if you have food sensitivities and that food gives you migraines, seizures, or stomach distress. Eating is already scary for people with allergies and we often do not go out to restaurants because we cannot trust the food supplied. Having UNLABELED food supply is my biggest concern. At a minimum, I want it labeled, for our safety. If it is not labeled, why? Because they KNOW there are a lot of people who'd choose not to eat it even without allergies! Man has a way of messing things up and this I believe is one of them. Don't get me wrong, I love progress, but this is a very dangerous game to be playing and Monsanto knows it. They have a deceptive history and I'd never trust anything their hands were in. What if Frankenfish get into our waterways and messes up the fish in the wild? That has the potential of a big disaster. Farmers are upset with the GOM seeds, what will happen with the food supply when they get to the meat? Will Monsanto then have total control like they do the seeds? I am not volunteering to be a food tester!
They are sterile, and they are reared in inland farms (not coastal farms, unlike farmed salmon). "...this is a very dangerous game to be playing and Monsanto knows it." "I am sure Monsanto has that lawsuit covered too. They are a very deceptive company." Monsanto has absolutely nothing to do with this fish. All of you GMO fearmongers should be more concerned with the effects of salmon hatcheries on the salmon gene pool: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fish-hatchery-silverhead-salmon-genetics Also, the effects of dams, fertilizer, pesticides and industrial pollutants on the health of the salmon and the health of the people eating them. Sorry, but GMO really brings out paranoia in people.
Gordon S offers valid reasons for going off the food grid. In the last year, I have drastically cut back on corn and wheat products. Come this Spring I will be growing my own vegies and buying fresh caught fish, as well as locally raised poultry.
You are completely correct that the wheat we eat isn't natural. It has been selectively bred for 10,000 years, and probably doesn't resemble its ancestor much at all. If we had to rely on what is truly natural (ancient grains, fruits, nuts, wild animals), the planet could support a few hundred million people. Only affluent westerners who shop at Whole Paycheck (err, Whole Foods), and, perhaps, some New Guinea tribesman, can afford such luxury. :)