Food safety advocates are launching one final effort to stop the FDA from approving genetically modified salmon. It would be the first laboratory-created animal approved as food in America. Until now, all FDA approved GM or GE foods have been plants like corn or soybeans. But with the final FDA hurdle approaching, GE salmon could be heading to your plate very soon.
"The biotechnology industry says it has genetically engineered a fish that grows at twice the normal rate, so it can get to market sooner and make more money, faster," the consumer safety advocate Food & Water Watch says of genetically engineered salmon, "But this dangerous lab experiment is all hype and full of downsides to consumers, salmon growers and the environment." The group also points out that at least 30 House members and 14 US Senators have written to the White House expressing their opposition to the addition of GE salmon into the nation's food supply.
Emphasizing one of many concerns about creating a genetically engineered salmon species on such a large, industrial and commercial scale, Food & Water Watch quotes Denise Hawkins, PhD from the US Fish & Wildlife Service. In a statement describing the FDA's lack of data on the subject, he writes, "Maybe they should watch Jurassic Park."
