By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
It is a truly blasphemous concept to a pescetarian–genetically modified, farm raised salmon. But, the United States Food and Drug Administration voted Thursday to allow for the marketing, and just as worrisome, the exemption from food labeling as such, of genetically altered fish that reportedly grows twice as fast as natural salmon. It once again shows how consumers cannot rely on politicians and the U.S. Government for informed choices on what we eat.
The producer of the fish, AquaBounty Technologies, received clearance to manufacture their AquAdvantage(R) Salmon after the FDA “determined that they have met the regulatory requirements for approval, including that food from the fish is safe to eat,” according to Bernadette Dunham director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. This culminates in a two decade effort for the company to gain approval to sell the fish to producers.
AquAdvantage is the first genetically modified animal to win approval from the FDA to sell to consumers. It is now up to these consumers to do their homework to determine if food products contain frankenfish, since labeling is not required. In a conference call to reporters, the FDA advised consumers wishing to avoid GMO fish will need to purchase Wild-Caught since the term Farm Raised will encompass natural and altered genome types.
Around December of 2013, Safeway and Kroger vowed they would not sell genetically modified salmon in their stores citing concerns of their customers. This was followed by Trader-Joe’s. Indeed this also shows potential for more grocers listening to consumers who overwhelmingly support mandatory GMO labeling and are increasingly likely to avoid such foods.
“Consumers deserve to know what type of food they’re buying –- and an overwhelming majority has told us that they want genetically modified food labeled in poll after poll,” said Michael Hansen, senior scientist with Consumers Union, in a statement. “The decision to not require a GE label for this product takes away the consumer’s ability to make a truly informed choice.”
In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would preempt the right of states to mandate GMO labeling or to regulate genetically altered “food”. The Senate has not taken up drafting legislation for this.
AquaBounty Chief Executive Officer Ronald Stotish stated,
“AquAdvantage Salmon is a game-changer that brings healthy and nutritious food to consumers in an environmentally responsible manner without damaging the ocean and other marine habitats.”
I have to disagree. The company claims that its product is altered so that if it somehow enters the wild, it will not breed due to creating sterile, female only fish. There are countless stories in the world where invasive species caused disruption in local ecosystems. Both the manufacturer of the fish, and the FDA itself proffer AquAdvantage will only be grown within inland tanks to prevent contamination of natural fishing areas. That is going to be more of a empty promise because it is likely going to be difficult to control every entity that takes possession of the fish and resorts to hazardous manufacturing controls to save costs. Plus, if their product was so safe why would it be necessary to take up such measures to prevent the salmon from entering the wild?
AquAdvantage contains alterations to a Pacific Chinook Salmon genome that causes the fish to create a growth hormone at twice the rate of a natural fish. A concern is that if released into the wild it could crowd out natural fish and lead to imbalances in not only salmon species but other organisms will be both directly and indirectly affected. Moreover, once the box has been opened to genetically altered animals just about any other trait can be exploited or turned off which could lead to a race to the bottom for cost control that can introduce other forms of degradation of food quality and health. With regard to RoundUp Ready plant crops, Monsanto claims its GMO product is safe for consumption. Yet, the alteration allows for the use of a scorched-earth herbicide to be administered to the crops, a substance that studies are showing can lead to various pathologies in humans. We need to ask ourselves what the true cost of our food is. Cheaper is not always better.
By Darren Smith
Sources:
Bloomberg
Center for Food Safety
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
And didn’t AquaBounty, or any politician involved, see Jurassic Park ? Haven’t we heard the “sterile female” safeguard before? Right before some velociraptor laid an egg and killed everyone?
Bruce:
“I’m getting skeptical of chicken hearing that some are shipped to China butchered there and shipped back to the U.S.” I think cost wise it’s more likely that Chinese poultry are butchered and then shipped here as processed poultry products, like nuggets.
And since we’ve also allowed ourselves to agree not to label country of origin anymore, we consumers are the ones that pay for this. China has a deserved reputation for producing toxic products. They don’t seem to care, and they have not made any progress towards repairing that reputation.
And another word on labeling:
Yes, we consumers overwhelmingly poll in favor of labeling GMOs. And yet , when it was just on the ballot recently here in CA, Monsanto successfully campaigned for it to be defeated. They ran commercials claiming that it was just an expensive food labeling campaign with no benefit, that would drive up the cost of groceries. GMOs were not even mentioned. The pro-labeling side did not seem to advertise very much at all. And clearly people didn’t actually read the description at the voting booth.
The voters need to do better.
Conspiracy theorist: “Someone who questions known liars.”
Just vote with your dollars. It’s the best we can do in this banana republic. Eat only wild caught salmon and preferably Atlantic to avoid the radiation from Fukishima IF you believe in that. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you stop eating sh*t food and 95% of it IS sh*t.
Monsanto stock prices: Notice a trend?
http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=MOO.BE+Interactive#{%22allowChartStacking%22:true}
Here is another concern. GMO alfalfa, beet pulp, soy, and corn are already here, all of which goes into feed for cattle, swine, poultry, and even farmed fish. It’s in the food chain.
I have 3 main issues with GMOs.
1. They should be clearly labeled to give consumers a choice. Refusing to label is contrary to a free market economy. Since they fight so hard, at great time and expense, against labeling, they implicitly acknowledge that consumers would not knowingly buy their products.
2. Many GMOs cannot be contained, such as wind pollinated corn. A farmer miles away gets his field contaminated, and then Monsanto’s lawyers show up and sue him for patent infringement. If he wants to grow corn anymore, he has to buy from Monsanto, and he is prohibited from saving seed.
3. There are many health concerns in regard to GMOs. Roundup Ready crops are so heavily sprayed with Roundup, that farm workers are exposed to especially high levels, and so are consumers. Next gen pesticides are now incorporated directly into the plant’s tissues. There is no washing it off with a jet of water. And all those pesticides and herbicides are now suspected contributing factors to Colony Collapse Disorder, which kills about 1/3 of the bee population every year. Without bees, we wouldn’t even have many crops at all. Plus there are some indications GMOs may be linked to tumors.
They do not believe in their product if they do not proudly label it.
The FDA has one standard.. Will the manufacturer make a profit? Human health is no longer considered.
Humans should be allowed to choose.
PhillyT
That is the point. If ‘people’ become informed as to the consequences of ‘stuff’ then the special interests that run the country would not be able to control consumption. Think ‘Big Tobacco’. Who do you think was responsible for advertising that cigarettes were good for you, your digestion, general well being? Who do you think fought tooth and nail and purchased our elected representatives by the score to stop the truth from coming out. You can still smoke if you want to but at least you get to know the consequences.
The same is true of the NRA, Big Oil, Big Coal, etc. Small special interest groups that disproportionately affect society do so for profit, market control, and maintaining the status quo. In the US, unlike most other Western Democracies, the amount of money spent on a representative determines if that representative gets to represent, but not the voter, the special interest that funded him or her; or they get smeared if they don’t go along.
The circus sideshow that is the election process in the US illustrates a lunatic’s illusion that represents American democracy. If you have a few billion, you too can run and win. This is America’s greatest shame.
You won’t know when you are eating it as it won’t be labeled as such. The other threat is the potential long-term effects on existing wild salmon populations and other fish species populations in the vicinity. In another article, the title says it all: “GM salmon’s global HQ – 1,500m high in Panamanian rainforest.” So much for being a good corporate citizen of the environment.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/17/canada-sued-genetically-modified-salmon-scheme-approval-environmental-groups
So just label it. Let people decide. In fact, label everything. The informed consumer has a right to know what is in their food, what it’s been sprayed with, fertilized with, treated with, coated with. People who don’t care can buy an eat what they want, as can people who want to know. Not so complicated.
Oxa “Welcome to the Tinfoil Hat Society!” Thank you for that warm welcome! I found a great definition of “CONSPIRACY THEORIST just for you. Top definition in the Urban Dictionary. Go figger!!!
“A contemptuous term used primarily by the main stream media to slander anyone who questions their monopoly on truth.”
“Even though he has done his own research and has concluded that the official account of events is either lacking or inaccurate, he is still a conspiracy theorist because he does not believe what the main stream media proclaims to be the truth.”
And the runner up is……!!!
” A term in which its true meaning has been completely obscured. It is used to attack the credibility of people who seek the truth within crimes committed by the government. It used by those committing the crimes to make those who seek to expose them seem crazy and wrong.”
“The witnesses who heard a gunshot and saw smoke coming from the grassy knoll during the Kennedy assassination are conspiracy theorists. The witnesses who felt, heard, saw, and were harmed by explosions during the attacks on the World Trade Center towers basement levels on September 11, 2001 are conspiracy theorists. Any who believes the government doesn’t love you is a conspiracy theorist.”
Dazed Lemmings Can’t Bridge The Reality Gap
http://www.zengardner.com/dazed-lemmings-cant-bridge-the-reality-gap/
No more salmon for me. But … I am a dog. Ralston Purina dog chow. Armour Hot Dogs.
this is a ‘frankenfish’ as it contains a genetic switch from an eel-like creature.
Ah. Thank you shelly. I missed that in the article.
The idea of frankenfish or other unnaturally blended animals is a queasy one. However, I’m not quite clear on what the danger to the consumer would be by eating the cooked flesh or the eating frankenfruit/vegies as well.
Even if there is zero danger, people need to know the origin of their food, what is in it and IF it is a GMO. They can make their own choices.
Bring it on. Corporate America is killing us.
DBQ, this is a ‘frankenfish’ as it contains a genetic switch from an eel-like creature. One concern is with the FDA treating the genetic modification as ‘a drug’: “The F.D.A. regulates genetically engineered animals as veterinary drugs, using the argument that the gene inserted into the animal meets the definition of a drug. Critics have branded this an inadequate solution intended to squeeze a new technology into an old regulatory framework. They say the F.D.A. is not as qualified as other government agencies to do environmental assessments. The White House is now reviewing the entire framework for regulating genetically engineered products.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/20/business/genetically-engineered-salmon-approved-for-consumption.html?_r=0
This is an older video (2010) and sorry, from RT, which is already biased.
The ingredients that consumers deserve include the closest scrutiny of these ‘products’ as is scientifically possible, and complete disclosure. We share a society spread over many countries that can determine whether or not something is safe to consume. The US, however, is one of the very few countries that does not require foods that have been messed with labeled. They are available in the more advanced countries but must be labeled. This leaves the choice, after the necessary government scrutiny, to the informed consumer.
It is ironic that the US is pretty much the only country that applauds itself regularly on being at the vanguard of a people governed by consumer choice yet will not inform the consumer. The food is next to being forced on the consumer. Could this have anything to do with the fact that the US is an oligarchy, ruled by special interests, that would not make as much money if full disclosure were mandated, and therefore not be able to purchase the politicians. This goes back to the arguments at the dawn of democracy. Some Greeks argued that the common people were not capable of making educated decisions and therefore a few highly educated people should decide for them, in their best interests, whether they liked it or not. The mob or the common person was deemed to be incapable of deciding.
Western society has evolved. Governments have been created to guard against improper behavior and other affronts. The more evolved democracies are relying on the education and informing of the voters. Not so the US. As can be seen from almost every election the clowns come out into the various rings, perform their acts, and receive their applause. How else can one explain: Trump, Carson, Rubio, Cruz, etc. The system of government in the US is fast becoming the biggest joke in the world. There is a bit of a need to decide for the average person. The thirty percent of the population that is obese could use some judicious decision making. There is, unfortunately, a phony independence on the illusion of choice, where there is little to none.
I would love to hear another explanation for this.
Chimene
The salmon is the Atlantic Salmon according to the NYTimes
I wouldn’t call this “frankenfood” unless the genetic material comes from another species. For example a sheep/pig cow/dog.
In fact many of the foods that we take for granted are hybrids and have been genetically modified by selection by man or by natural hybridization.
Wheat, corn, grapefruit, tomatoes, peppermint, pluot, tangelo etc. Corn has actually been so modified that it cannot survive without man. Cannot self seed.
Are you going to stop eating grapefruit because it isn’t a naturally occurring fruit
I do agree thought that we should have labeling to indicate not only where the food comes from but also if it has been genetically modified. That way we can make our own choices.
Chimeme; I’m with you on the farmed fish, I won’t eat tilapia and I’m getting skeptical of chicken hearing that some are shipped to China butchered there and shipped back to the U.S. Does China even have a food and drug administration?
Farmed natural salmon are not a plus either… lots of escapes, lots of diseases in the ponds that escapees take out into the wild with them… if I’m gonna’ pay salmon prices, you betcha’ I’m gonna’ not even LOOK at anything that isn’t labelled WILD CAUGHT! We don’t buy tilapia or any of the other new varieties (Chinese?) that you see in the fish case these days either. If my mother wouldn’t recognize it (b.1922), I don’t want anything to do with it either.
Anybody know why these stinkers picked a Pacific Salmon to monkey with? Why not Atlantic Salmon (which the PacNW calls trout anyway)?
Kudos to the writer for describing these poor animals as MANUFACTURED!
Welcome to the Tinfoil Hat Society!