Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Wanna Bite? Not Me!!!!

The FDA recently approved genetically engineered salmon for human consumption, with no labeling requirement. The patented AquAdvantage® salmon are the first-ever genetically engineered animal approved for human consumption. The AquAdvantage® salmon are a genetic combination of Atlantic Salmon, Chinook, and Ocean Eel Pout. The FDA research on AquAdvantage® salmon shows that it is more disease-prone than non-GE Atlantic Salmon, increasing the likelihood that sick fish would infect native fish populations. At the Canadian production site, the salmon were infected with a new strain of infectious Salmon Anaemia, a deadly fish flu which has been devastating fish stocks around the world. This information was released independently by the Canadian government and was not included in the FDA assessment. There are additional problems with AquAdvantage® salmon in the FDA research. First, the fish were shown to be up to 40% more likely to cause an allergic reaction in humans. Additionally, 5% of the fish presented as fertile - the FDA is partially basing their approval on the fish all being sterile females. If these fertile fish escape, they could outcompete wild salmon and cause severe ecological damage. Even worse, consumers won't be able to choose whether or not to purchase GE salmon because there is no labeling requirement. Our last chance to stop this newly engineered, unlabeled salmon from hitting grocery shelves across America is an order from President Obama stopping the commercialization of this fish. At the very least, it needs to come with a label. Consumers deserve a choice. For more information, https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-AquAdvantage-Salmon-and-has-the-FDA-approval-process-been-fair

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