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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Genetically Modified Salmon???
Stop Frankenfish!
Don't Let Obama's Food & Drug Administration Approve Genetically Engineered Salmon!Take Action Now!
Obama's F.D.A. is using a secret process designed to review veterinary drugs to rule on what could be the first genetically engineered animal to enter the food supply, genetically engineered salmon.The confidential drug evaluation process does not fully assess food safety or environmental impacts and blocks public input. The public will never see, let alone have the opportunity to rebut, the information AquaBounty Technologies, the developer of the genetically engineered salmon, submits to the F.D.A. And, the F.D.A. is not conducting or soliciting independent research to determine whether the salmon is safe to eat or release into the environment.
Public opinion surveys show that Americans are even more wary about genetically engineered animals than about the genetically engineered crops now used in a huge number of foods. The government doesn't require genetically engineered foods to be labeled. Foods must be labeled, it says, only if they are different in their nutritional properties or other characteristics. AquaBounty is trying to make the case to the F.D.A. that its salmon is indistinguishable from normal Atlantic salmon in terms of taste, color, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, proteins and other nutrients. But, AquaBounty's franken-salmon is clearly different from normal salmon. It has been engineered to grow twice as fast, reaching its full size in 18 months. Since the information the F.D.A. is collecting on AquaBounty's salmon is considered proprietary, the public isn't being told how the genetically engineered animal would be produced or what impact the trangenic salmon could have on human health and the environment. Here are a few unknowns: 1. How does AquaBounty get the foreign DNA into its franken-salmon?One way to do this is to use viruses to "infect" cells with the new DNA. If a virus is used as a vector, a cancer risk is created. 2. Does AquaBounty's franken-salmon contain novel proteins or other molecules produced by the transgenic organisms that could trigger allergies? Allergic reactions, a known risk of genetically engineered foods, can result in serious trauma, even death.
3. When people eat AquaBounty's franken-salmon, will the transgenic DNA be incorporated into the genomes of the bacteria in the human digestive tract? A human study conducted by the UK's Food Standards Agencyfound that a single serving of genetically engineered soy can result in "horizontal gene transfer," where the bacteria of the gut takes up the modified DNA from the soy. 4. What are the human health impacts of producing food from salmon that are deformed by genetically engineered growth hormones?According to an expert panel from the Royal Society of Canada, scientists have documented "deleterious consequences to fish morphology, respiratory capacity, and locomotion associated with the introduction of growth hormone (GH) gene constructs in some transgenic variants of salmonids, notably Pacific and Atlantic salmon." The panel concluded that this "is the rule rather than the exception in fish ... [and] has been manifested by changes to enzyme activity, gross anatomy, behaviour and, in all likelihood, hormonal activity." The human health impacts of producing food from salmon that are deformed by genetically engineered growth hormones is unknown. http://www.capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=15197336 This is just crazy and disgusting. What is this administration thinking?
Don't Let Obama's Food & Drug Administration Approve Genetically Engineered Salmon!Take Action Now!
Obama's F.D.A. is using a secret process designed to review veterinary drugs to rule on what could be the first genetically engineered animal to enter the food supply, genetically engineered salmon.The confidential drug evaluation process does not fully assess food safety or environmental impacts and blocks public input. The public will never see, let alone have the opportunity to rebut, the information AquaBounty Technologies, the developer of the genetically engineered salmon, submits to the F.D.A. And, the F.D.A. is not conducting or soliciting independent research to determine whether the salmon is safe to eat or release into the environment.Public opinion surveys show that Americans are even more wary about genetically engineered animals than about the genetically engineered crops now used in a huge number of foods. The government doesn't require genetically engineered foods to be labeled. Foods must be labeled, it says, only if they are different in their nutritional properties or other characteristics. AquaBounty is trying to make the case to the F.D.A. that its salmon is indistinguishable from normal Atlantic salmon in terms of taste, color, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, proteins and other nutrients. But, AquaBounty's franken-salmon is clearly different from normal salmon. It has been engineered to grow twice as fast, reaching its full size in 18 months. Since the information the F.D.A. is collecting on AquaBounty's salmon is considered proprietary, the public isn't being told how the genetically engineered animal would be produced or what impact the trangenic salmon could have on human health and the environment. Here are a few unknowns: 1. How does AquaBounty get the foreign DNA into its franken-salmon?One way to do this is to use viruses to "infect" cells with the new DNA. If a virus is used as a vector, a cancer risk is created. 2. Does AquaBounty's franken-salmon contain novel proteins or other molecules produced by the transgenic organisms that could trigger allergies? Allergic reactions, a known risk of genetically engineered foods, can result in serious trauma, even death.
3. When people eat AquaBounty's franken-salmon, will the transgenic DNA be incorporated into the genomes of the bacteria in the human digestive tract? A human study conducted by the UK's Food Standards Agencyfound that a single serving of genetically engineered soy can result in "horizontal gene transfer," where the bacteria of the gut takes up the modified DNA from the soy. 4. What are the human health impacts of producing food from salmon that are deformed by genetically engineered growth hormones?According to an expert panel from the Royal Society of Canada, scientists have documented "deleterious consequences to fish morphology, respiratory capacity, and locomotion associated with the introduction of growth hormone (GH) gene constructs in some transgenic variants of salmonids, notably Pacific and Atlantic salmon." The panel concluded that this "is the rule rather than the exception in fish ... [and] has been manifested by changes to enzyme activity, gross anatomy, behaviour and, in all likelihood, hormonal activity." The human health impacts of producing food from salmon that are deformed by genetically engineered growth hormones is unknown. http://www.capwiz.com/grassrootsnetroots/issues/alert/?alertid=15197336 This is just crazy and disgusting. What is this administration thinking?
June 13, 2009 ~ Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Re: Genetically Modified Salmon???
*gnashes teeth* This is bad. I wasn't sure what your source was for this story, but google is confirming it. And the so-called advantage of these salmon is that they simply grow faster. It looks like the same company is also developing this for trout and tilapia.
That they will makes loads and loads of money off the fees from regulating this food. It is scary, and it really sucks that this is happening to our food supply. Companies want to make money and the government wants companies to make money, because they then also make money. You'll have (unlabeled) cloned beef on your butcher shelf very soon also.
Speak with your wallet. Buy wild caught, sustainably harvested fish per the Seafood Watch Guide. Know who raises your beef, pork, and poultry. Clearly, we can't rely on corporations or the government to protect us from frankenfood. Knowing where your food comes from is the solution.
I had the same thought. But if these GMO salmon get approved they'll be raised in netted areas in the ocean just like farmed salmon currently are. Some will most certainly escape and breed with wild salmon, and all salmon is now GMO. Enjoy.
The company does say the GMO salmon are sterile. I just happen to not believe them... because nature always does exactly what you intend after you start messing with it.
Merm, I can go out and catch fish myself, and they are still farm raised. The streams are stocked with farm-raised trout.
ETA: Okay, I feel better seeing that farm-raised rainbow trout is listed in the "best choices" for my region. Thanks for the guide SG!
OMG majorwife you read my mind! Sterile my @ss.
Not all farm raised fish are bad, it all depends on how they're farmed. Farm-raised tilapia and trout are "best choices." Farm-raised salmon is a "worst choice." The seafood guide says:
Health Alert
Environmental Defense Fund has issued a health advisory for farmed salmon due to high levels of PCBs.
Summary
One of the biggest concerns is the amount of food required to raise farmed salmon. It generally takes three pounds of wild fish to grow one pound of farmed salmon. The environmental impact of salmon farming is still increasing as global production continues to rise.
Most salmon are farmed in open pens and cages in coastal waters. Waste from these farms is released directly into the ocean. Parasites and diseases from farmed salmon can spread to wild fish swimming near the farms and escaping farmed salmon can harm wild populations. As a result, all salmon farmed in ocean net pens get an ?Avoid? ranking.