Would You Eat Genetically Modified Salmon?
Knowing where you food comes from is important. We’ve talked about it before — shop at farmer’s markets and buy local when possible. Of course that’s not always possible, particularly as we start getting into the winter months or with certain foods like fish … unless you’re on a coast or living on an island somewhere.
In landlocked Kentucky, we don’t have the option to buy "local" when it comes to fish.
And while we suggest eating fish regularly — up to 12 oz per week like the American Heart Association suggests – an article I read recently got me a little scared. Very scared, actually.
It was in the Washington Post and it was entitled "FDA rules won’t require labeling of genetically modified salmon."
Something is fishy about all of this …
According to the article, there are apparently some loopholes among the regulations that may allow the FDA to not label the salmon so shoppers will not know if they’re picking up genetically modified salmon fillets for dinner.
SCARY!
The least we can ask for as consumers is to know where our food comes from and if it is genetically modified or not; then shoppers can make the decision if they want to buy it or not.
People in the biotechnology industry, however, suggest extra labeling just confuses consumers.
This is the first modified animal that is being considered — and here’s the deal with this "salmon" that is under question. It’s called "AquAdvantage salmon" – it’s been given a gene from an eel like fish that’s combined with a growth hormone from Chinook salmon.
The Industry loves it — this "AquAdvantage salmon" grows twice as fast as its natural counterpart.
Voila. Just like a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat, we now can "create" a salmon essentially out of thin air that’s bigger than the real thing.
This is more than scary. Because if this actually does move forward and get approved, other animals are lined up behind it — beef, pork and other fish — all looking for federal approval.
Sounds like a bunch of Frankenfood to me.
I don’t want to eat food that’s been "created" in a lab somewhere, even if industry experts assure me it’s no different than the natural counterpart… I want to eat real food that nature provides us.
Mohr Results Bottom Line: Only buy wild salmon — it’s a better source of omega-3′s and has less pesticides anyhow. That will assure your salmon isn’t genetically modified. You don’t have to eat organic. You don’t have to just eat local. But eating REAL food should definitely be something you strive for in my opinion.
October 7th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
I have no interest in eating GMO salmon. I definitely agree that the GMO fish should be labeled as such, so we know what we are buying.
That being said, biotechnology does have a place in the food industry. In the US we take for granted that we have the ability to buy fresh produce/meat from the grocery store or farmers market. In third world countries the availability of produce is much less. Living off nature is far less glamorous in these places. GMO’s can make agriculture much easier for these people and can provide them with nutrients they normally wouldn’t get. For example, in South Asia, the diet is grain based. Grains are not very nutrient dense and don’t provide ample nutrition for these people. A product like golden rice provides these people with beta carotene, which they normally would not get. However, because environmental lobbyists are convinced anything made in a lab is dangerous, the rice is not allowed to be distributed. The technology for the rice was even provided for free with the intent of helping those in need.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, I understand why everyone gets in an uproar over things like this, but I feel like it puts the kibosh on an industry that could be useful to certain people.
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October 7th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Just to clarify, I completely agree with what you said in your post. In the US, we DO have the option to eat real food and we should take advantage of it. And we should be given all the information as consumers. The second part of my prior comment is really referring to some things people are saying about GMO’s as a response to this issue.
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October 8th, 2010 at 7:25 am
It was in the Washington Post and it is entitled “FDA rules won’t require labeling of genetically modified salmon.”
Thanks for the heads up, for what it’s worth I just sent the following email to the FDA.
As a voting voice of humanity, I don’t believe you should approve such foods for human consumption. But I suppose it will be the same as white bread with vitamins added. Why would you need to add vitamins to bread unless it is genetically deficient? White bread helped make people fat and also left them short of much needed fiber.
If you are going to approve genetically modified foods then I beg of you to require strict labeling so the consumer, who is not confused as easily as you might suppose, can make their own informed decisions as to whether or not to purchase such items.
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October 8th, 2010 at 9:34 am
GM salmon sounds like one of the nastiest ideas ever….and what REALLY annoys me is that the guys who invented it are trying to bribe (yes, they’re sneaky, no doubt) the FDA into not only approving it, but to prevent its labeling as a GM food…my paranoia has kept me from eating my favorite fish for weeks, and I’m hating it… =,(
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October 8th, 2010 at 9:34 am
GM salmon sounds like one of the nastiest ideas ever….and what REALLY annoys me is that the guys who invented it are trying to bribe (yes, they\’re sneaky, no doubt) the FDA into not only approving it, but to prevent its labeling as a GM food…my paranoia has kept me from eating my favorite fish for weeks, and I\’m hating it… =,(
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October 9th, 2010 at 4:14 am
daniel nudelman
hay is g.m.o Salomon is kosher??
i am from Israel and i don’t know if our Salomon is GMO or not.
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
October 9th, 2010 at 9:23 am
I am not sure if it is kosher or not
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June 19th, 2011 at 8:04 pm
No. I wouldn’t eat anything that i know is gmo.
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