The future of food is here, ladies and gents, as the US Food and Drug Administration has just approved the first genetically engineered species of salmon, coming to a grocery store near you. Though the FDA has taken nearly 20 years and extensive research to approve the product, GMO dissidents are not convinced – they’ve brazenly dubbed the species “FrankenFish.”
“The FDA has thoroughly analyzed and evaluated the data and information submitted by AquaBounty Technologies regarding AquAdvantage Salmon and determined that they have met the regulatory requirements for approval, including that food from the fish is safe to eat,” said Bernadette Dunham, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, in a statement Thursday.
It’s a landmark decision because this is the first genetically modified animal headed for American restaurants and refrigerators.
Basically, the “FrankenFish” is an Atlantic Salmon injected with hormones from Pacific Chinook Salmon, making it mature much faster than usual. Under an FDA law provision, the fish won’t be farmed on US soil; instead, they’ll be imported from fisheries in Canada and Panama. And perhaps most interesting (and contentious), the product won’t be required to be sold with a label warning consumers that it’s genetically modified. That’s because:
“There are no biologically relevant differences in the nutritional profile of AquAdvantage Salmon compared to that of other farm-raised Atlantic salmon,” the FDA contends.
In my (admittedly) novice understanding of gmos, and all environmental neo-hippie arguments aside, this development seems like something of value with little consequence. The salmon aren’t getting some test-tube hormone injected in them – it’s from a similar species, occurring naturally in nature. And they have the same “nutritional profile” as they did before; they’re just growing faster and bigger. With the oceans progressively becoming overfished, and no clear environmental or health issues, the AquAdvantage Salmon seems like a positive step in the right direction. But then again, maybe I’m just biased because all this research is making me really crave some salmon sashimi right about now.
