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Monday, September 20, 2010

Nature wasn't good enough? We have to "genetically alter" fish?

There are articles all over the internet today (NPR, Alternet, etc.) about "genetically altered" salmon that may be okayed by the FDA and about to be released into nature. And why would anyone genetically alter salmon, you ask? Why, so they grow faster and companies can make more money, of course? Isn't that why we do everything? Naturally, the company responsible for these salmon insist they're a-okay. Scientists, however, aren't totally sure yet: Michael Hansen, a senior staff scientist with Consumers Union, disagrees. "They need more data. They need more data on the allergy question, and I think most any allergy scientist would say the same thing,” he says. And then there's this: Another contentious issue being debated Monday is what will happen if these salmon escape from fish farms into the wild. People are concerned about whether they would mate with wild fish, out-compete them for food or irreversibly change their habitats. The fact is, this same Michael Hansen, Senior Scientist at Consumers Union Consumers Union senior scientist Michael Hansen calls the FDA's work on this salmon "'sloppy,' 'misleading,' and 'woefully inadequate.'" From NPR's article "Weird Facts About Genetically Engineered Salmon: The engineered fish are sterile, have three sets of chromosomes and are exclusively female. I am personally of a couple different thoughts here. First, screwing with nature doesn't seem like a great idea but, second, we certainly screwed--big time--with chickens and we seem to be okay there. Third, growing salmon faster might be a good way to feed more people---provided, of course, it's safe. This seems to be one of those situations where, once again, we need to be calm and rational and patient and let the true science work this one out. Link to original stories: http://www.alternet.org/food/148156/the_creepy_science_behind_genetically_engineered_%22frankenfish%22_about_to_enter_our_food_supply_unlabeled/; http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129939819; http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2010/09/20/129993900/weird-facts-about-genetically-engineered-salmon; http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100920/ap_on_bi_ge/us_modified_salmon

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