Genetically Engineered Salmon Earn FDA Approval. Now What?

They're alive, they're alive! Well — almost. Frankenfish swam one step closer to diners' dinner plates yesterday as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials approved AquaBounty Technologies' genetically engineered (GE) salmon for human consumption. Pending opinions from outside experts and a public comment period, the AquAdvantage Salmon could be on sale in supermarkets across the U.S. in the next two-to-three years, making it the first genetically modified (GM) animal product on the market.

Environmentalists and food safety advocates are naturally outraged by the decision for sundry reasons. These causes-for-concern boil down to one overarching theme: We just can't be sure of how these Frankenfish may impact human health or the environment. And if we can't be sure of their safety, how can we justify producing, selling, and eating them?

It's a totally valid question, both from a health and environmental perspective. Groups like the non-profit Food and Water Watch argue that there's no adequate system in place for evaluating the safety of GE foods; the FDA uses the same tests for GE foods that it uses on non-GE foods. Because altered-with products are horses of a different color (or in this case, salmon of a different size), they should require different and more rigorous testing.

Critics also argue that the FDA only tested a small sample of GE fish before giving them the agency's stamp of approval, a sample size that couldn't possibly paint a clear picture of the fish's potential health impacts. For example, according to The Telegraph, some GE fish showed higher-than-normal levels of growth hormones in their bloodstream, which may cause an increased risk of cancer.

Environmentalists also take issue with AquAdvantage fish because they are so biologically different from real salmon. GE salmon reach market weight (about 6.6 pounds) within 16-to-18 months instead of the traditional three years. The swimmers grow at a superfish rate because of two genes that scientists inserted, one that's linked to growth hormones and another that ensures fish will produce these hormones even when in very cold temperatures. While these hormones make salmon bulk up faster, they also make the fish more aggressive (think athletes-on-steroids type of aggressive). Environmentalists worry that if fish escape their pens, they could outcompete wild salmon for food and resources. And while AquaBounty says that the GE salmon are sterile, according to The Telegraph, about five percent of the fish could still conceive and breed with wild fish if they escape, forever altering these wild fish's genetics.

What's especially worrisome is that we've already seen how this situation plays out in the world's agricultural fields. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved GE seeds (like Monsanto's Roundup Ready plants) several decades ago, and we're just now seeing the environmental destruction these crops can cause. Weeds are developing resistance to the herbicide Roundup, morphing into crop-destroying "superweeds;" farmers are using more herbicides and pesticides than ever before to combat these "superweeds;" GM crops are escaping their fields and cross-breeding with organic crop varieties. I'd hate to see a similar scenario occur with GE animals.

The FDA just doesn't know enough about AquAdvantage salmon to give them the go-ahead. It's irresponsible of the federal agency to gamble with the health of consumers and our environment. Sign Food and Water Watch's petition asking President Obama to direct the FDA to reject the approval of GE salmon.

Photo credit: Picture8 via Wikimedia Commons