The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced its approval of genetically engineered salmon.
The FDA decision pertains specifically to a line of fish known as AquAdvantage salmon, from Massachusetts-based AquaBounty Technologies Inc.
Here's the FDA's main determination:
After an exhaustive and rigorous scientific review, FDA has arrived at the decision that AquAdvantage salmon is as safe to eat as any non-genetically engineered (GE) Atlantic salmon, and also as nutritious.
The agency added:
FDA assessed the environmental impacts of approving this application and found that the approval would not have a significant impact on the environment of the United States. That's because the multiple containment measures the company will use in the land-based facilities in Panama and Canada make it extremely unlikely that the fish could escape and establish themselves in the wild.
Read more from the FDA here.
Alaska's congressional delegation is furious with FDA's decision.
Here's a press release from AquaBounty.
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19 comments:
"There are no shortcuts in evolution." Louis D. Brandies
I am guessing this announcement was similar in what was put out when Australia thought it was a good idea to import Cane Toads
Guys probably need to plan their exit stategy from the salmon harvesting business over the next few years. It hard to see a future for wild salmon harvesters a decade down the road.
To 957
Couldn't disagree with you more. GMO salmon will be rejected by consumers just as farmed has by a significant portion of the consuming public. We need to maintain advocacy for sustainability of our salmon resources, continue to improve quality from the harvesting sector and keep telling the story about sustainable protein being produced by small businesses; harvested and processed in the USA. Just turned 60, Been at it for 40 years, wish I had another 40 in me!
It's been difficult for wild Alaska salmon harvesters since the introduction of fish farming a few decades ago but fishermen stood their grounds and still have a market, take several years back, prices were great, today the problem is oversupply, weak foreign currency etc. the prices will rebound again. Look at halibut, there was talk about farming halibut a few years back, still the market prefers wild caught fish and fishermen are paid record prices in excess of $7.00LB.
It's got to taste better that a GMO humpie?
http://www.barrons.com/quote/stock/uk/xlon/abtu
To 5:43 PM
I appreciate your positive attitude but, the fact remains, after shrimp (also farmed) farmed salmon is one of the highest US seafood imports. True, the wonderful benefits that wild salmon provide is spreading near and far and I agree with you in terms of continuing to advocate and promote our product. However, I respectfully disagree with your comment that farmed is being "rejected by significant portion of the consuming public" That's just wishful thinking.
Also, you have another 40 years of fishing in you. Just keep eating wild salmon!
This GMO Atlantic salmon rings of Hitler's Aryan race dreams. Not good then, not good now.
I think this will backfire on all of farmed salmon and wild salmon will come out on top.
There are cooks who already talk about the nice, unique mild taste of farmed salmon. (Google these cooks and send them hate mail)
Will GMO salmon's reliable texture be what your salmon cakes are missing tomorrow?
Just a reminder that 'most of the world doesn't care' about the origins of their food.
Maybe this will prompt Bristol Bay individuals to start marketing their salmon like they should have done a long, long time ago:
'The only, the legendary...the hatchery (half-farmed), farmed, and GMO-free salmon fishery'
1:23 PM is correct. There are a number of cooks that promote the mild taste of farmed salmon. Furthermore, I hear from some consumers that they prefer farmed for the same reason. Their comment is "wild is too fishy". Most the world does not care where their food comes from. However, tastes and food source concerns are changing. 5:43 is correct; we do need to maintain advocacy for sustainability of our salmon resources, and continue to improve quality from the harvesting sector. I have been critical of the BB-RSDA in the past. However, I now feel it's the organization that can best promote this message. Rather than knocking it, endorse it. It too is changing and that's a good thing because it really needs to.
I was in Philadelphia this weekend and visited grocery store. They had both farmed atlantic and wild sockeye. The sockeye looked terrible, washed out, gapping and it was $16/pound. The farmed stuff looked great and it was $9/pound. Farmed salmon isn't going away, no matter how much we bitch and moan. Our concern with the GMO salmon is that the fish farms become even more efficient, and drive the price down even further.
"This GMO Atlantic salmon rings of Hitler's Aryan race dreams." You're joking, right?
Mark Ervice
Homer
I'm afraid I agree with 9:57.. It's not just THIS "AquAdvantage" fish we have to worry about - which is new, it's the explosion of salmon farming all around us. Have you been to Canada lately? it seems there are fish farms everywhere. And these are not mickey mouse outfits - but serious, serious intelligent profit driven producers. They are producing a uniform, more certain (reliable) product - that whether they tell you it or not: the restaurants want more than wild salmon because of it's uniform size and reliability. At the end the day most consumers - American or otherwise - seem to care about a couple things: freshness, availability (having bananas all year long) and cost. The fish farms in Canada (and other places in the Northwest - look what Icicile's doing for crying out loud) are able to produce this - all year long. These professional fish farm operators - wealthy North American corporations - are just biding their time, slowly entering and eating up the market. And promoting that their product is very healthy ("the healthiest food on the planet), very uniform in size, very reliable. I've fished BB since the mid 70's and have a big investment: but I'm worried about the future for the wild salmon fisherman. The only hope IS the "wild" nature of the catch - trying to find that niche of consumers that really cares. The market for our wild Alaska salmon needs to expand - can't be limited to domestic processors. Let the world in to buy our salmon. Maybe the niche can be found that way. Otherwise its a slow death for the wild salmon fisherman trying to make a profit. Sure - there will always be fish and huge runs - but the cost of getting the seasonal, unreliable - in size of fish and size of run - product to the consumer will be much more than the fish farms in the Northwest - which, when you think about it are just fish manufacturing plants: manufacturing uniform healthy protein in the same way man manufactures everything else in this world - usually in spite of and against nature's wishes.
I'm in Las Vegas this week and checked out a grocery store for salmon. The seafood guy at Smiths says the only sell wild salmon frozen. Once again the farmed stuff looks nice and $9/lb. I am seeing a lot of salmon on menus, with some "wild" noted.
@5.04 likely that wild fish was from a producer that did not take proper care of the product as the first owner, and when they get to Market they look like rags
3:06..I agree with your post. Wild salmon harvesters only real hope long-term is to differentiate WILD salmon in the market place, and convince consumers that it is worth paying more for than the farmed Atlantic or coho. Hopefully, that margin will be enough to sustain an industry in the future. Otherwise, cost of production for farmed fish will gradually move lower (the greatest risk of this GMO fish) while our cost of production inexorably moves upward as our costs to operate increases every year, and we nurse yet another season out of 25-30 yr. old equipment. Any one out there think we have a viable business harvesting sockeye for $0.60-0.70/lb in 2025? Anyone?
11:29.. No, I don't believe it's a viable business at $0.60-0.70/lb. But, I do believe it is at $.85-.90. I also fee BB should not be your only or main source of income. It's the best supplemental business if you mange your expenses, didn't over purchase and/or limit your debt. There will always be a home for wild fish but the price will fluctuate dramatically. It always has. Check out the price of oil. You can't read a financial paper these days without a story about an oil driller or junior exploration company going out of business. We are not alone.
Anybody know how much feed it takes to grow one of these GMO fish compared to a regular farmed salmon?
I saw where it said GMO would require 25% less feed. They have to raise them on land so I wander how much extra that would cost.
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