So Will That Be the Wild or Patented Salmon?

[marmar]

from Civil Eats:



So Will That Be the Wild or Patented Salmon?

March 12th, 2012
By Peter Hanlon


It looks like 2012 will be the year of two salmons: one a genetically altered “Frankenfish” currently under review by the Food and Drug Administration, and the other an inhabitant of one of the world’s last great wild salmon runs, which is unfortunately situated atop a whole lot of copper and gold deposits.

Our first salmon represents a giant step into the unknown of genetically engineered organisms. AquaBounty, a company originally incorporated to produce antifreeze, is trying to get FDA approval of its very own patented salmon species called “AquAdvantage.” If approved, the purportedly sterile, all-female salmon would be the first-ever market-approved, genetically engineered protein to reach our dinner plates. But in the absurd world of engineered food, the FDA is not reviewing AquAdvantage salmon as “fish,” rather it’s being studied as a “new animal drug.” A new animal drug–sorry, “fish”–that wouldn’t require labeling on grocery shelves or menus.

Three consumer groups–Food and Water Watch, Consumers Union and the Center for Food Safety–recently submitted a petition calling on the FDA to reclassify the genetically altered fish so that it undergoes a more rigorous review process. Even the current Congress has taken note, with at least 30 House members and 14 senators having written the Obama administration expressing serious concerns about the FDA’s review of AquAdvantage salmon, in some cases calling for the outright prohibition of its approval for human consumption.

In a hearing last December, Four Fish author Paul Greenberg told a Senate subcommittee that “This fish is not worth the risk. We would be better pursuing a course of truly sustainable aquaculture and better management and use of our wild fisheries.” ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://civileats.com/2012/03/12/so-will-that-be-the-wild-or-patented-salmon/

[Auggie]

1. Soylent Pink

[flvegan]

2. We could, and I'm just saying...

not suggesting, just saying...maybe we could just stop eating them altogether. Just a thought.