This may be a good thing, but it sounds very sketchy to us also!
The FDA may approve genetically enhanced salmon.
AquaBounty, the company marketing the fish, has inserted a Chinook salmon growth hormone gene into Atlantic salmon, as well as another gene from an eel-like creature that allows the fish to produce growth hormone constantly. With the growth hormone, they grow twice the size of their normal counterparts in a much shorter time period.
The weird part is that the FDA isn’t testing the fish themselves. Instead, they are allowing AquaBounty to do the testing and present the results. Wouldn’t this allow for skewed results?
The FDA should be behind the testing, not the company that is trying to get approved!
The issue arises when allergens come into discussion. All fish have them, which make many people allergic to them. The concern comes from the lack of knowledge over how the allergens would react to the growth hormones. Would they become even more hazardous to those already effected?
Also, occasionally the farm-raised salmon are accidentally released into the wild. Many scientists are worried what these giant, genetically enhanced salmon would do to the natural population if released.
We see the good behind this experiment – more food, at less of a cost. This could solve hunger issues in a lot of areas, but the risks involved seem too massive to simply ignore.
We’re not sure where we stand on this issue as of now – we’ll certainly keep our eyes peeled for it as more develops.
[Image via Getty Images.]
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