In the News: GE Salmon Approved
Posted on December 28, 2012
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Despite a lack of testing and widespread opposition, genetically
engineered (GE) salmon took the final step towards becoming the first
FDA-approved GE food animal. The Food and Drug Administration released
its draft Environmental Assessment which concluded that the fish “will
not have any significant impacts on the quality of the human environment
of the United States”, clearing the way for salmon that have been
developed to grow at twice the usual salmon speed. Over 40 members of
Congress and scientists at other federal agencies, including the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, have also voiced strong opposition to GE salmon,
citing the lack of scientific rigor and expertise at the FDA.
AquaBounty, the biotech company that developed the frankenfish, says
there’s little to no risk of fish escaping their growth pens and mating
with wild salmon. Yet a team of Canadian scientists who observed the
breeding behavior of AquaBounty’s genetically modified salmon and wild
salmon for two years, found that they can indeed mate. “It’s possible for
genetic modification to enter wild populations through natural sexual
reproduction,” Darek Moreau, a researcher in evolutionary ecology at
Memorial University in Canada, told the Montreal Gazette. Although the
researchers could not say what the evolutionary and ecological
ramifications of their results could be, there are sure to be effects to
the ecosystem with the introduction of these GE fish.
SOURCE: http://www.ieatgreen.com/in-the-news-ge-salmon-approved-right-to-know-battle-continues-war-on-front-yard-gardens/?utm_source=iEat+Green+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2ba6e641ee-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
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