Thursday, September 09, 2010

GE Salmon to Receive FDA Approval

Genetically engineered salmon will be coming soon to a fish store near you, if the F.D.A. has its way, according to this article in the New York Times. You can also read about it in today's newsfeed from Time Magazine. Visitors to Wellfleet enjoy our seafood restaurants and fish shops, so I decided to see what the local experts have to say on the subject...

Ron Mcclellan, at Hatch’s on the Town Hall parking lot, sells both farmed and wild salmon. Ron thought a moment before siding against: “I don’t think it’s a great idea. We already have problems with (farmed) fish escaping and messing up all the wild fish. I’d prefer to see them grow the salmon we have now inland.”

My next stop was the Boathouse Fish Market. The saleslady did not want to give me her name, or voice an opinion. Instead she suggested contacting Cape Tip Seafoods. I noticed that the display case contained only one type of salmon, which shall remain nameless, since it was not labeled.

Then I headed over to the offices at Mac’s Seafood where I found Sam Bradford and Alex Hay behind their desks, hard at work. They were not aware of the article and asked me to email it. So, what did they think of GE salmon?

“There’s probably a place for it in the market,” Sam said.

Alex immediately wanted to know what the modifications would be. “If it’s farm-raised and kept completely in captivity, it’s like a controlled science project, you know?”

Alex said he prefers farm-raised salmon to wild due to the taste, more fat, more flavor. “Little wild salmon is used in sushi,” he added, reminding me that Mac’s Shack has carved out a niche for itself with spectacular sushi and a sushi chef who draws raves.

So, your turn. What do you think of genetically engineered salmon? Do you want to eat it? Those of you who, like me, are opposed, please express yourself on this petition.

Comments (10)

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I try to stay away from ANYTHING genetically modified. The thing that gets me is that more people are seeking and are willing to pay for all natural, free range products and these companies keep coming up with ways to shove unnatural, genetically modified goods down our throats. Cracked me up when, in the story, it read that the company wanting to sell these fish are the ones who sponsored the study. It's like the oil industry regulating themselves.
Very important article, Alexandra.
I posted an article from the Huffington Post a while back about the FDA ok'ing the GM fish. I also have something about GM/cloned cattle that we fight here.
I'm not the expert here, as I am not a journalist, but I dispise being forced to eat this Cr** period.
WE also here are a Monsanto stomping groung with GM seeds that they force and parade around. Since we are an huge Ag state, this is a multi- billion dollar business around here.
I for one, really am not sure what to do, so I guess that is why I am SO careful about food, and not buy processed anything. I eat very simply but lots of flavor. I will say, sometimes the meals get a little boring, but not much I can do.
Anyway, great article and food for thought this morning.
My recent post Chilly!!!!!
OH NO! I'm totally against this. I was following it and thought we would beat this one. What is wrong with this world?
The idea is to release the phony, DNA-fiddled fish into the sea, so they genetically contaminate the natural wild fish. This will be touted as an accident. GM seed is covertly broadcast in Mexico, without the explicit consent of government and against the rising dissent of locals. Once the contamination is set, there is little to fight against, or for, since the distinction will be difficult to make. The damage is done. What is the damage? Future compromised organs like kidneys and liver, allergies; compromised reproductive health, sterility; these we have known thus far.
Emailed by Sam:

This email about salmon came in this morning and I thought you might be interested in reading it: http://tiny.cc/2gac2
1 reply · active 754 weeks ago
More from Sam: I think it is easy to have a negative gut reaction to something like this. But without knowing anything about the specifics. I can’t form an opinion on it. I firmly believe that advanced farming practices and GE are not bad per se. After all millions of people would have perished from starvation over the last 30 or so years were it not for such innovation. As always, the devil is in the details, so without knowing them I can’t form an opinion.
sarah henry's avatar

sarah henry · 754 weeks ago

Sounds like a bad idea, though I must confess that I really need to read up on all the debates over what fish to eat and when and how. I find shopping for seafood stressful. Have you read Four Fish, Sandy? I need to get myself a copy.
My recent post Berkeley Bites- Minh Tsai- Hodo Soy Beanery
1 reply · active 754 weeks ago
Thanks for the recommendation, Sarah. I will order it from the library. I agree that there is much more education needed on this, but feel it is premature for the FDA to approve it so fast.
Jeannine Aklin at the FDA emailed me the following information about upcoming public meetings and how to file comments for the record. If one of the links at the bottom interests you, let me know and I will explore where it leads:

Public Meeting on Salmon
On September 19-21, 2010, the FDA will hold two public meetings on AquAdvantage Salmon, a genetically engineered (GE) Atlantic salmon intended to be used for food.

On September 19-20, the FDA will hold a meeting of the agency's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee (VMAC), which will address science-based issues associated with AquaBounty Technologies’ application. The Sept. 19 session is an orientation for VMAC members on the technology of producing GE animals and the FDA’s regulatory process for evaluating these animals. On Sept. 20, the FDA will present information on animal health, food safety, environmental concerns, and data supporting the claim that AquAdvantage Salmon grow faster than conventionally bred Atlantic salmon. Both days of the VMAC meeting are open to the public.

On September 21, 2010, the FDA will hold a public hearing at which it will present the relevant legal principles for food labeling and describe information made available prior to the hearing about AquAdvantage Salmon. Although it will be FDA’s responsibility to determine if any special labeling is required in accordance with federal law, the hearing will offer the public an opportunity to comment on the application of the relevant food labeling principles to foods that might be made from the AquAdvantage Salmon.

At each meeting, interested persons may present data, information, or views, orally or in writing. Because the two meetings are held by different Centers within the FDA, the comment processes and deadlines differ.

Individuals who wish to make an oral presentation at the VMAC and the Part 15 hearing must register in advance.

Advance registration to attend the VMAC and the Part 15 hearing is strongly encouraged, so that the FDA may plan accordingly for space.

Instructions on how to register or apply to present are included in the links below.
•Constituent Update for the Public Hearing9
•Federal Register Notice of Public Hearing re: Labeling of Food Made from AquAdvantage Salmon; Request for Comments (PDF - 126KB)10
•Background Document: Public Hearing on the Labeling of Food Made from the AquAdvantage Salmon11 http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/u... link to CVM site
Seems GE salmon has already been approved. The issue is labeling it GE salmon. From Organic Bytes: Deadline: September 16, 2010

On the Friday before Labor Day, despite limited and inadequate safety-testing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that industrially-raised salmon, genetically engineered to eat constantly and grow rapidly are safe for human consumption - even though the FDA found that these fish contained elevated levels of growth hormones, including insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), a suspected carcinogen. AquaBounty's genetically engineered fish will be the first genetically engineered animal commercially sold as food in the United States. Under current law, these Frankenfish will not be required to be labeled as genetically engineered, depriving consumers of their right to choose non-GE food.

FDA's approval of AquaBounty's IGF-1 tainted salmon mirrors its controversial approval of Monsanto's genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) in the 1990s. Although rBGH is banned in Canada, the EU, and on organic dairy farms, it is still injected into more than 10% of U.S. dairy cows. The milk from cows injected with rBGH, like genetically engineered salmon, contains higher levels of IGF-1.

Elevated levels of IGF-1 in humans is linked to colon, prostate and breast cancer.

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