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Genetically Engineered Salmon Not Approved! (yet...)
We Need More Research On Genetically Altered Salmon Says FDA Advisory Panel
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/201862.php
A panel of experts that advises the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided on Monday more research was needed before it could vote on whether to recommend approval to allow genetically modified salmon to be bred for human consumption in the US.
An analysis by FDA staff that was released prior to the meeting had concluded that the AquAdvantage salmon from AquaBounty Technologies of Waltham, Massachusetts, was as safe to eat as conventional Atlantic salmon and posed little risk to the environment, reports the Wall Street Journal.
However on reviewing the available evidence, the FDA's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee (VMAC) did not vote on the issue but instead offered a series of recommendations calling for more evidence, for instance on whether the genetically altered fish might provoke allergic reactions and other health problems in consumers, said a report in the Los Angeles Times.
If approved, the AquAdvantage salmon would be the first genetically altered food animal to be consumed in the US.
Panel member Dr James McKean, a veterinarian and professor at Iowa State University told the LA Times that there were "questions that have not been answered by the data that has been presented".
Other panel members were of the opinion there was essentially no difference between the genetically engineered salmon and the conventional type.
A professor and fish researcher at Washington State University, Dr Gary Thorgaard, told the paper that he would "not feel alarmed about eating this kind of fish".
The FDA has been considering the case of this particular salmon for over a decade: scientists starting producing the modified fish in the lab nearly 13 years ago.
According to AquaBounty, one of the advantages of the genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon is that it grows twice as fast as conventional salmon, but is in other respects indistinguishable from Atlantic salmon: it just reaches the same size faster.
To make the genetically modified Atlantic salmon, they take the growth gene from the Pacific chinook salmon and insert it into the DNA of newly fertilized Atlantic salmon eggs. However, this of itself is not enough to keep the salmon growing all year round: to keep the growth gene permanently "switched on", the AquaBounty scientists also add a small piece of DNA from another fish called the ocean pout.
In the wild, Atlantic salmon differs from Pacific salmon in many ways, including appearance, habitat, and ability to survive in different environments.
One of the main differences between Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon is that Atlantic salmon do not die after returning to spawn in the streams in which they hatch: they can go back to the sea. Mature Pacific salmon, however, generally die within a few days or weeks of spawning.
AquaBounty says its genetically modified Atlantic salmon, which would be bred exclusively on inland fish farms, is reproductively sterile (all the fish would be sterile females), which "eliminates the threat of interbreeding amongst themselves or with native populations, a major recent concern in dealing with fish escaping from salmon farms".
Curiously, the FDA's powers to regulate genetically modified animals for human consumption (under the provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, FFDCA) require them to consider the "new product" as if it is a drug. In this case, the "drug" is the piece of DNA that is added to the Atlantic fish eggs to change its characteristics.
Under the FFDCA provisions, the agency must assess the health of the affected animal, examine the characteristics of the food products derived from it (such as milk, cheese, meat), consider the risk of a toxic reaction to these products in humans, and also assess the impact on the environment.
To date, the FDA has approved one application related to a genetically engineered animal: this was for a genetically altered goat that produces a human pharmaceutical compound in its milk. The pharmaceutical, recombinant human antithrombin III, for use in individuals with clotting disorders, has also been approved in Europe.
The FDA has also given approval to many genetically modified plant products, including quinoa, soybeans, cotton, flax, corn, rapeseed (Canola), rice, potatoes, bananas, and squash.
The FDA panel meets again on Tuesday in open session and will consider comments from the public, for instance on what should appear on the consumer product label, if the salmon is approved.
Sources: FDA, AquaBounty Technologies, Sacramento Bee, LA Times, Wall Street Journal.
Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Re: Genetically Engineered Salmon Not Approved! (yet...)
Thanks for the update. It does sound like its just a matter of time though, doesn't it?
It's sad, imo, how badly influenced by $$ this government agency has become--non partisan, non biased my butt.
This just sounds so wrong!
And this screams Jurassic Park...
I completely agree. Especially since it's well documented that fish do change sex when there's an inbalance between the sexes in the wild. There is no such thing as a 100 percent guarantee of sterility. Sterility of genetically engineered fish is inherently uncertain given the possibility for human error and natural variation. AquaAdvantage is already talking about having orders for 15 million eggs. Only a handful of these need be fertile to potentially destroy natural populations of wild fish. Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana estimate that 60 fertile GE fish introduced into a natural population of 60,000 could annihilate the natural stock in 20-30 years.
I do feel its just a matter of time, and while I still am completely disgusted by this, I feel a little better knowing they will be sterile and bred inland, and its Atlantic salmon. Again, still totally opposed, and don't think its safe, but at least those precautions make my dinner a little safer from being Frankenfish...
Another concern of mine with this, is that as people more and more accept farmed and GE salmon -- which does NOT taste anything like real salmon, especially the really good kinds -- there will be less concern over protecting the much tastier wild salmon and its habitats.
I tell you there will be HELL TO PAY if my sockeyes die. Hell I say!
Yup. Especially since the FDA is continuing with the public meeting today on whether the fish would need to be labeled. That is SO putting the cart before the horse, i.e., shouldn't they approve the fish for human consumption before they decided on whether or not to label it? They've already made up their mind. AquaAdvantage will send them some flimsy answers to their recommendations and the FDA will approve the salmon. No public hearing. No public comment period. Just wham and they'll be Frankenfish on seafood counters in less than 2 years.
My #1 concern is the precedence this approval will set. There are already companies in line for GE chickens, pigs, and cows. The way the government environmental approval process works is that once one plant or animal is approved, they all are. That's how Monsanto keeps making more GMO plants, because every one after the first one is assumed to be safe, with no research or testing. After a few decades, all we'll all be eating is GMO chicken, burgers, and steaks. And you KNOW McDonalds will be the first in line for GMO beef. Hamburgers for $0.50!
After awhile, all the local farmers we buy from to avoid GMOs will have trouble ordering non-GMO baby animals, like mail-order chicks. It's already happening with soy and canola seeds, there's a limited supply of the non-GMO versions because 93% of the soy planted in America is GMO. Our cheap products will force other countries who have GMO bans, like Europe and Japan, to start using GMOs to stay competitive with cheap U.S. exports. And then we'll be a world of people eating GMO food, and real food grown by real people will be lost to us as a society.
I know that's quite a conspiracy theory-type rant, but it's how I feel. This is why DH and I are starting to plant heriloom seeds so we can save our own seed next year.
That's one of the main reasons I plant heirlooms. It was cool getting to explain to my gardening buddy about seeds. She, like most gardeners, didn't know you can't save seeds and keep planting from commercial (unstable) hybrids, because they are so cheap its easier to just buy new ones every year. But the longterm implications of that are freaky.
Just as freaky as the potential for all livestock/poultry becoming GE as well. I absolutely do not think we know enough to consider this safe -- actually it seems to me we know enough to consider it unsafe.
Ding Ding Ding!! I have decided that I AM a conspiracy theory supporter in this regard, and I agree whole hardheartedly how SAD it will be. It actually depresses me to think that my future children may not live out their lives knowing REAL farmers. Why doesn't the SEC bring monopoly charges up against Monsanto?? Because that's what the entire farming industry will become....
LOL, glad someone agrees with me. My DH, who follows me in every aspect of our green journey, gives me the
when I get going on this. As far as monopoly charges, the SEC just doesn't care. DuPont is actually in the process of suing Monsanto for being a monopoly, stealing DuPont's share of the market, and for unscrupulous (sp) business practices. That's like Burger King suing McDonalds for selling food with crappy ingredients. "Hey pot, it's kettle. BLACK!"
I so love this.
It's so
The FDA has also given approval to many genetically modified plant products, including quinoa, soybeans, cotton, flax, corn, rapeseed (Canola), rice, potatoes, bananas, and squash.
I did not know there were other vegetables and grains containing GMO's. I thought it was mainly corn, soy, and cotton?
This really scares me. I do my best to eat organic when I can, but I cannot keep my family from it completely. A little of it is better than eating it in every meal, right?
So this is what we do: Vote with your $$. I get so annoyed with companies taking over and making decisions for me, so I try the best I can to avoid this by buying from companies and farmers I WANT to survive and avoiding those that go against anything sane.
But seriously, this is getting ridiculous. Thanks for posting.
I agree it is scary. Unfortunately, I knew about all of those except quinoa. Most people haven't even heard of quinoa, and it's mostly eaten by health foodies and vegetarians who probably buy organic. I know I do.
The "Big Four" GMO products are corn, soy, canola, and cotton. If you avoid products with Big Four ingredients (including their oils), you're cutting down your GMO exposure immensely. This includes the ubiquitous "vegetable oil" which is certainly going to be corn, canola, or soybean oil. The two best ways to avoid GMOs is to:
1.) Buy organic
2.) Cook meals at home from whole ingredients. Translation: Don't eat any processed foods, including going out to eat.