Genetically Engineered Salmon Now Safe for Consumption

Well known to today's media are the familiar phrases genetic engineering and GMO's. All the attention of the media lately has been turned on genetically modified corn and genetically modified chickens. However, there is a new organism in the spotlight-salmon. A committee that was put together in order to advise the FDA on whether or not genetically modified salmon is safe for consumption and for the environment has deemed it safe for the population and mother nature. The super-salmon was studied very closely by this committee, because this is the first genetically engineered organism to enter the American food market. Of course, organisms before salmon were genetically modified and manipulated, but never totally engineered. The difference between the salmon and other organisms is that this salmon contains a hormone that causes it to grow to a marketable size twice as fast as a wild salmon would.

These fish would be grown in farms and have a very low chance of escaping into the wild where they could reproduce. A few committee members insinuated that there might be a slight chance of an increase of risk of allergic reaction to the modified fish, but that was never confirmed through studies. The FDA did not see any "glaring holes" in the committees presentation, and approved of the genetically engineered salmon hitting the food market. Of course there is going to be surveillance of the fish after it goes on the market just to ensure that the safety evaluation is correct in assuming that it is safe for consumption.

The approval of this salmon could pave the way for new technology to be used on animals when genetically engineering them. For example, a pig was genetically engineered in Canada to be more environmentally friendly. This could increase food source as well as minimize the amount of space that is taken up in order to farm animals. The influence could be beneficial for the environment.

While the genetic engineering of a commonly consumed food item might be intimidating to hear, the rearrangement of a simple pattern of genes has not completely changed the food product all together. While it may be different than traditional farm grown salmon, the FDA's approval should put the public's mind at ease, because they would not allow unsafe food to enter the market. I personally think this is a great advancement in technology and could allow smaller farms with the same output of salmon and could help with lowering food company's carbon footprint. Hopefully this technology will be applicable in the near future to a variety of foods.

The original article can be found here.
Frequently asked Q&A on genetically modified food can be found here.