7 Things You Need to Know About the FDA’s Approval of GMO Salmon
5. Alaska isn’t very happy. What stake does Alaska have in all of this? How about protecting their fishing industry… what happens if GMO salmon escape and infiltrate the natural salmon gene pool? Alaskan senator Lisa Murkowski voiced her displeasure with the FDA’s approval —
“I am livid at the FDA’s announcement to approve genetically engineered ‘salmon’—what seems to be more science experiment than fish or food.”
Lisa, along with senator Dan Sullivan and congressman Don Young form the Alaska Congressional Delegation, a group that, over the past few years, has “sponsored and supported numerous pieces of legislation to eliminate the threat of GE fish, including efforts to effectively ban the shipment and sale of such products, and others that would require labeling of GE salmon.” They are now focusing on the labeling fight instead, an all-too-common refrain these days with the GMO controversy in America. Click here to read more on the delegation’s reaction to the news. 6. The fish may grow larger than anticipated. There’s speculation that the fish may grow significantly larger than their non-GE counterparts, which raises other concerns that may fuel the “Frankenfish” perception even further. First, as detailed in the Canadian review noted in #1 on this list, if the salmon were to escape containment, an abnormally large Atlantic salmon would be able to eat larger-than-normal prey fish, which could “expand the environmental impact of escaped GMO salmon.” Another tidbit that Alaska certainly won’t appreciate. It also raises other questions, particularly since the studies done were not done on fish that had grown larger. As Alternet mentions —
What happens to the health of a GMO salmon that reaches ever-large proportions? What happens to the nutritional content of the fish for consumers? What happens to the hormone levels of this fish, which is engineered with a growth-hormone gene construct?
Read the full Alternet article here. 7. No labeling will be required, but thousands of stores already refuse to carry the fish. As is the case with all GMOs right now in the United States, no labeling will be required for the AquAdvantage salmon. But even though it’s months and months away before the first fish will actually be farmed and then shipped to stores, many companies have already refused to stock the fish — even before the FDA approval hit. Kroger, Safeway, Trader Joes, Target, Whole Foods, and dozens of other stores are refusing to sell the fish, adding up to over 9,000 stores in the US. Like any new product, the real decision will be made by consumers. Well… assuming consumers actually know what they’re buying, which for GMO salmon, under current regulations, they will not. Click here for the full list of stores refusing to carry GMO salmon.
