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.
Trader Joe’s has sworn off GMOs. So has Chipotle.
LOL
Now, if Chipotle can swear off on e-coli bacteria….that would be a good thing 😉
@ Ari
Best of luck and hoping that you are not going to have a positive biopsy. I just received a good result on what looked like a skin cancer. Whew! After years of too much sun on my Welsh/Irish complexion it is a worry. Stay well!
Cancer is an extremely tricky thing and pretty difficult to pin down to one causing factor. There is no doubt that that smoking and other toxic substances will contribute to the possibility of getting a type of cancer. My aunt had lung cancer and was a life time heavy smoker, while her brother who also smoked never got it. Other people have gotten lung cancer who have never smoked in their life. I think it is just genetics and some people get dealt a bad hand.
To try to blame foods, GMOs, the air we breathe and any other multitude of environmental occurrences as the ONE thing that will cause cancer or the ONE thing that gives you high cholesterol or that high fat foods make you fat etc etc etc is not helpful. In fact the constant bouncing back and forth about what is good for you to eat and what is bad for you to eat, drink, use just makes me more skeptical of the breathless pronouncements from eggheads on high.
Over my lifetime eggs have been good, bad, good. Margarine good…now bad. Carbs good…..oops nope bad. High fat, low fat. Whole milk, skim milk. Beef, chicken, fish, all have had a good rap and bad rap. In the 70’s we were all going to freeze in the imminent ice age…now we are all going to get warm and evidently not have sex either because it is too hot. Or not, maybe a new ice age….again.
Frankly, I don’t think the experts have a clue. They are just guessing and getting grants to guess. And….they just want to control us. I do what I want, eat what I want (even things that are bad for me…or so they say), moderation in all things. Enjoy a couple of glasses of wine, not the whole dang bottle.
This post reminds me of a fairy tail I heard as a child. I don’t remember all of the details, something about a prince trying to find a beautiful young woman who came to the royal ball but left just before midnight. She left behind a very large salmon.
The prince tried to find her by taking the salmon from house to house and seeing if the salmon would fit inside the shoe of every beautiful young woman in the kingdom, but the salmon, which was genetically modified, was too large to fit inside anyone’s shoe
I don’t remember how the story ended, but I do remember the name of the story : Salmonella.
Hildegard … I appreciate your sentiment. However, “grass fed” means little unless you live on that particular ranch or farm. Labeling can be deceptive. My experience with “grass fed” cattle for example is that for their last 3-6 months they are sent to feed lots and are really no different than any other feed lot cow or steer. It is just part of the beef/auction process… future “sellers” will acton their own best financial interests. I’ve actually had “grass fed” only beef in Montana and it was delicious….but it is hard to find, even there. The best I had there actually came from Idaho…go figure.
Today is if anyone can give me a specific list of 5 items not GMO’d or Hybridized (same thing mostly) to some degree, please list them. I’ve nearly stopped reading labels anymore. Like “free range” chickens…most are not really as you might imagine them wandering hither and yon…and if they really are “free range”…enjoy chewing the tough meat 🙂 The corn hybridization is more about not allowing “seed corn” from GMO corn is more about proprietary interest than consumer protection. A farmer who tries to use his hybridized corn seed to re-plant is either blocked legally or the “seed” rendered sterile by GMO….but it still tastes dang good.
As a two time cancer survivor, heading in to a 3rd time (awaiting the biopsy results as we speak) I rather doubt my absurd diet over the years is the issue (other than toxic broccoli I doubt there’s much I haven’t tried living here and in Asia) …smoking for 55+ years yes, my beef or corn, I doubt it. Vis a vis the biopsy, I will deal with the results when they arrive just as I did with the previous results, all re-mediated. I’ve had false positives before, and this time I figure it is 55/45 … in my favor. They really do NOT know with out an actual tissue piece to analyze. They got mine last Friday in some 4 hour long deep procedure through my back. Whoopee. Still not as bad is bullets shot at you ( I keep telling myself that !) so I am good :-))
Arigog, “However, “grass fed” means little unless you live on that particular ranch or farm” Where I live if a ranch engages in false advertising the locals will hunt them down, hence I only consume local grass fed pasture raised beef and dairy products. YUM. And Montana is where I’m headed so that sounds perfect to me!
“if anyone can give me a specific list of 5 items not GMO’d or Hybridized (same thing mostly) to some degree.” I totally agree that heirloom is the best and getting very hard to find. You pretty much have to grown your own at this point.
http://livingmaxwell.com/carol-alt-fox-news-organic-food
“HYBRIDIZED FOOD vs. GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED FOOD
Many GMO-apologists will tell you that that there is no difference between genetically-engineered food and hybridized food. This is absolutely not the case. As ratified by over 160 countries around the world, the Cartagena Protocol of Biosafety has made it clear that GMOs are different than hybridized food.”
Hybridize: To form base pairs between complementary regions of two strands of DNA that were not originally paired.
You say, “I rather doubt my absurd diet over the years is the issue …” Seriously you believe this? I understand you have/had skin cancer? A four hour procedure? Please explain because I absolutely know a naturel cure for common skin cancer having used it myself but what you have sounds different.
Slate article on the safety of GMO plants.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/07/are_gmos_safe_yes_the_case_against_them_is_full_of_fraud_lies_and_errors.html
Np, you posted a link to an article by Will Saleton entitled “Unhealthy Fixation. The war against genetically modified organisms is full of fearmongering, errors, and fraud. Labeling them will not make you safer.”
That’s quite a mouthful, pardon the pun. My favorite line in the article (though I admit I couldn’t stomach much of it) is this one: “Despite an ongoing debate about the effects of glyphosate, experts agree that it’s relatively benign.” Watch this video for a good laugh regarding just how safe it is:
Lobbyist Claims Monsanto’s Roundup Is Safe To Drink, Freaks Out When Offered A Glass
Either the government represents the people and their best interests, openly, with full disclosure, and concerning all products consumed that fall under the required scrutiny of governmental oversight, or it doesn’t. When it doesn’t and can give no reason other than paid blather, then we have a problem. America has had this problem for some time. In Europe all GMO products are required to be labeled as such. Their voters told their government to do this. Who tells our government to do what they do?
Thank you Karen for your informative posts and maintaining a rational, not hysterical tone.
GMOs are something that makes me queasy just thinking about it.
Labeling where the food comes from is important. I will not buy canned fish or other items that are manufactured in China for fear of food safety. Since the State of California is determined to gut the agricultural industry, many if not most of our vegetables are imported from Mexico and also carry risks of contamination from unsanitary growing conditions.
The idea of the vegetables and crops being doused in Round-up, and carrying the residue in the food, is frightening. I use Round-up routinely, gallons of the stuff, but NEVER on my garden or anything I’m going to consume. I also treat the substance with great caution, wear protection, and carefully dispose of the containers in the hazardous waste program.
Knowing the ingredients in the food is also important, especially for those of you who do not cook from scratch or grow your own meat or buy from local providers.
However, to go overboard the other direction and make it so difficult for the commercial producers is only going to create a spike in costs of food that will be a hardship on those who are already marginally able to buy food.
There needs to be a balance between Laissez Faire production of foods that can harm and the over regulation that would lead to shortages.
“Being informed” is an overused and abused phrase. People tend to be “informed” by sources that validate their bias. Liberals are “informed” by MSNBC, conservatives by Fox. The information on food and nutrition is much more nuanced in its propaganda. You have to delve into the industry behind the “this is healthy” and scrutinize even more closely the money behind “this is unhealthy” campaigns. Just as our politics has devolved into vilifying the opposing party w/ negative advertising, more than building up your own platform, marketing has become subtle to not so subtle negative campaigning/advertising as well.
Not only did the legalize the GMO fish, but, the Government recently shut down the a single Oyster farm that produced 40% of California’s oysters, claiming the operation was not consistent with the Natural environment. Oyster filter the water, they don’t create much toxic waste.
Now the salmon fish hatchery in Tiburon is being evicted and with it they will eliminate over 10,000 hatchlings a year, guaranteeing the price of salmon to skyrocket, and, since el nino is killing off salmon in other hatcheries, we are guaranteed we will not eat much fresh natural salmon in the future, unless someone in Washington comes to their senses.
By the way, even Feinstein could not protect the oyster Farm, which was supported by pretty much everyone except the Interior Department. Word is that they also want to close down the organic beef farm across the street from the oyster farm, leading us assume the same people who are taking our parking and cars and homes are now after our food. Welcome to the disruptive society that is bringing us the scarcity economy.
I think one link is good for the whole day. Take a skating rink for example. One does not just skate around the link once. It is many times and wears one out. Weight a minute. That was a link not a rink. Words can be confusing. Especially when they are linked. A wedding link is surely meant to be one time. But there are two timers. And old timers. And guys named Al Zeimers. And I forget why they call them that.
Got it Darren. Thank you.
HappyTees: The free market is where you do not have to pay for the goods. That is food stamps. End regulation is where the hookers can go naked to display their wares. That is the Party of Lincoln. Food stamps and naked hookers.
It’s simple.
Elect Republicans. Open up the free market. End regulation.
I thought that was what everyone hoped for on this blog.
Labeling food stuffs just seems so barbaric.
“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.”
Is anyone surprised that some of those who make the loudest noise about free markets are also the ones who have voted to restrict information about GMOs which would allow markets to operate.
Label the product so that markets can operate and consumers can decide for themselves.
BTW, when you consider the safety of this issue you should remember that the history of technological progress is the opposite side of the coin of the history of unintended consequence. That … and Monarch butterflies that have been greatly reduced, in part, due to the introduction of gmo crops which reduced Monarch’s favored food plants.
Hildegard:
You are right. People are voting with their dollars, and the organic food business is booming.
Of course, a lot of factory farms are getting in on the action. Dairies in crowded conditions just feed their cows organic feed, and undercut the price of those who pasture their herd on lush green pastures with plenty of sunshine and exercise.
Karen S; After reading your comment I got curious about exactly what kind of living conditions “certified organic” livestock had. The conditions listed at:
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=dd5d6b5e9a2aaa4ce28c8e331e4b21fa&mc=true&node=se7.3.205_1239&rgn=div8 certainly sound better than what I think of when you say “factory farm” but
there could be loopholes if the regulations aren’t enforced or enforced too loosely. Is there a “certified organic” conspiracy? LOL Oh no doubt!
My daughter who’s a research fanatic discovered the Westin Price diet through the book “Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats” and it’s been a big influence on us.
amazon.com/gp/product/0967089735?*Version*=1&*entries*=0
Grass-fed meats have a perfect EFA balance which is the most critical link for a strong immune system.
Grass-fed meats are zero glycemic which is another critical factor for a strong immune system.
Grass-fed meats have 100% of the nutrient needs for man in perfect balance, also critical for immune system strength
Grass-fed meats are the easiest foods for man to digest.
Grass-fed meats are very nutrient dense.
Grass-fed meats are the most planet friendly food man eat.
The fats of grass-fed meats are the world’s best energy source–bar none.
Grass-Fed Meats are food for the brain.
texasgrassfedbeef.com/grass-fed-meat-education/grass-fed-meat-explained
Having trouble posting this comment so it may repeat….
Hildegard,
You might not have been aware but this website only allows two links per comment. I corrected your last one to make it work for now. If you would like the readers to see more than two links, this may be accomplished by using additional comments.
DBQ:
One of the genetic modifications is to insert a bacteria gene (Bacillus thuringiensis) that produces a pesticide (Bt- toxin) that kills insects by breaking open their stomaches. This pesticide is naturally occurring in the soil bacteria, and because of this can be an ingredient in organic pesticides. However, the difference is that the plant itself produces it. There is no way to wash it off. You would consume far more than you would if you got some dirt in your mouth. Plus it is not produced in such large amounts that it affects non target insects. It does give people pause to realize they are eating something that produces a toxin that causes insect stomaches to rupture.
There have been some studies linking GMOs to tumors, especially in the reproductive organs, as well as inflammation and related autoimmune disorders. However, Monsanto claims these studies had flaws in their design. That is still under debate.
However, it is agreed that GMOs such as Roundup Ready are specifically engineered to survive heavy doses of herbicide. And the weeds are adapting, so it takes more and more Roundup to kill them. So more chemicals are sprayed on these fields than would otherwise be. That part is not under debate. So these crops would also be more heavily contaminated with pesticide and herbicide.
I differentiate between a “natural” product and a “wild” one. Organic corn is a natural organism. It will wind pollinate and set seed. If it is a hybrid, then that seed will not be true to its parent. In order to get a particular hybrid seed, then the correct parents must be crossed, and you cannot save seed from subsequent generations. But if it is a heirloom variety or non hybrid, then you can save seed, which will grow true to its parent.
However, corn is not wild. It is no longer recognizable from its wild ancestor from which it developed.
Maple syrup is grown from the maple tree, which is both natural and wild.
I’m sorry but I think many posters here are a little naive. As if voting, protesting, trying to reason or complain is going to have any impact whatsoever. People are “worried” about GMOs, chicken…..hand wringing over labeling, etc. etc. If you people continue to buy and eat the CRAP you’re getting what you deserve! Oh I’m sorry you can’t afford it you say? That is SO ridiculous. I repeat SOOOO ridiculous!!! If you’re not willing to sacrifice something…anything.. for your health and principles you’re a lost cause and should just save your breath and complaints. Buy organic, buy grass fed, buy raw milk if you can find it, buy REAL food and prepare it yourself and clean up the mess. It’s so worth it.
DBQ:
“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.”
Yes and no. Genetically modified refers to a process in which a virus is used to inject DNA into the genome. That’s how viruses replicate – they get our own cells to replicate them. That gene could be synthesized in a lab, or taken from another species. For example, we can make strawberries frost tolerant by giving them the antifreeze that deep see fish naturally produce in their blood.
Hybridization and breeding refer to natural processes in which mankind uses selective breeding to obtain a desired result. Sometimes, we take steps like hand pollinating flowers that are so dense with petals that pollinators can no longer reach them. Or we may cross breeds to get a hybrid. Literally, we are in fact manipulating genes by breeding to achieve a genetic profile we desire. Like breeding for larger horses, or those with more wind. Or we could produce dogs that need to be delivered via C-Section (like Bull Dogs) because we’ve bred them to have such large heads the mother cannot deliver the pups on her own.
But although both are manipulating genes, genetically modified only refers to what occurs in a lab.
The difference between breeding naturally and genetically modified is that there can be unforeseen consequences for inserting entirely new gene sequences. We are learning that genes can affect those far upstream and downstream in surprising and unexpected ways. And putting in another gene like, say, from a bacteria that produces a pesticide, into a corn gene can have unintended consequences.
The bottom line is that I agree that they should label it so people can decide what they want to eat.