There Might Be Something VERY Wrong With The Salmon You're Eating

A company has been working on a way to create genetically modified salmon that grows twice as fast as conventional wild salmon.  

An advisory committee told the Food and Drug Administration recently that this fish appears to be safe.  Yet many have argued that more testing needs to be done before it is served on your dinner table.

If the FDA approves this it will be the first time the government has allowed modified animals to be marketed for human consumption.  

The company that has created this salmon states that their product is safe and environmentally sustainable.

Those in disagreement with this state that it may lead to the decimation of the wild salmon population.  They are also concerned that these modified eggs and salmon will make it into the natural habitats and breed with the wild salmon.  This will completely change the makeup of the salmon and maybe make the endangered population even more endangered because of the rate at which these modified fish eat and the quantities.

Not too mention that this has been untested in regards to long term health of the fish and to humans.

They have been able to create this type of salmon by adding a growth hormone from a chinook salmon that allows the fish to produce growth hormone all year long.  Conventional salmon produce this hormone only some of the time.  The engineers also added another gene from a eel like fish called an ocean pout that acts like a switch and helps to keep the hormone turned on.  

The FDA has stated that there were no biologically relevant differences between the engineered salmon and conventional salmon.  Though the critics still have two main concerns which are the safety of human consumption and the effect this will have on the environment.

If approved this may be on the market in 2 years and at that time you may not even know you are eating a genetically modified salmon because there are lobbying efforts to not have the fish labeled as genetically engineered.

Resources:

Information on FDA Meeting 

FDA Panel Unable to Reach Conclusion