I, like many other people at Princeton, enjoy the occasional fish dinner after a long day of classes. Oily fish, like salmon, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for your brain and overall health. Unfortunately, my salmon eating days are likely to be numbered. The FDA has recently announced that they can't find anything wrong with a genetically modified Atlantic salmon that is waiting for approval to be marketed to consumers in the US.
Now, I wouldn't say that I am necessarily against eating food that has been genetically modified, but I have to draw the line at being used as a human guinea pig without my consent. No one asked me to participate in a trial to see if the new salmon is safe to eat, but if it is put on the market, I will have no way to know if the piece of 'farm grown salmon' on my plate is from a real fish, or a genetically modified one. In essence, the developer of the fish, AquaBounty Technologies, is trying to use the US population as lab rats for their product. Somehow, I can't quite see that as being entirely ethical. A better idea would be to ask for volunteers to try the new fish, just in case there is something in it that could be dangerous.
And from what I have read, there are reasons to be concerned. Most farmed salmon are fed with 'fish feed' which is laced with antibiotics used to keep the fish healthy and coloring agents to give farmed salmon the same color as wild salmon.
Although there does not appear to be anything harmful in the new genetically modified salmon, I don't think it is a good idea to use consumers as a test of whether or not the new fish is safe for people to eat. A study of those who have volunteered to try this new fish would not only be the most ethical way to determine the fish's safety, but probably the most accurate as well.
For more information about 'Frankenfish', try these links:
Original Story
Meaning of 'Genetically Modified' salmon
Opinion piece: For
Opinion piece: Against
AquaBounty webpage
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It is very easy to prematurely dismiss the advantageousness of genetically modified foods. GM crops, for example, are more productive than average and unmodified foods, and they can have a higher nutritional value. Genetically modified crops are also pesticide and herbicide resistant, thereby reducing costs producers would spend on protecting their crops. People consume these genetically modified crops on a regular basis, many unknowingly. In fact, 70-75% of processed foods on the market today contain genetically modified ingredients! Why, then, when biotechnology presents a genetically modified animal, all hell breaks loose?
It seems as though we are forgetting the big picture here, genetically modified foods are extremely prevalent in our grocery stores and they already been implemented in our everyday lives. Opposing this is like fervently refusing to eat the genetically modified fish on your plate, but gladly chowing down on the genetically modified corn right next to it (currently up to 45% of corn in the United States is genetically engineered), which sounds awfully hypocritical.
Keeping genetically modified fish on the market holds more benefits to the consumer than one would assume. This past year, the price of salmon has increased by at least 13%, a price that has turned salmon from what once was a delicious commodity to a bit of a luxury for the average American. The new GM Alaskan fish can grow twice as fast as regular salmon, thus causing the supply of salmon available to increase astronomically. Obviously this will result in cheaper salmon prices, which makes salmon more accessible to consumers.
People shouldn’t have a problem with eating genetically modified salmon, especially when such a large portion of the food we have on the market today contains a fair amount of GM ingredients already. We must consider the benefits this holds for not only us as consumers by increasing efficient food production (not to mention how this could possibly reduce starvation issues in developing countries), but it also helps reduce the overfishing of scarce Alaskan salmon, since we are able to farm these fish in isolated environments.
Resisting change is a natural part of the human condition, and while the idea of genetically modified organisms may seem strange, it is a not an advancement that people need be fearful of.
Sources:
http://www.helium.com/items/1961685-what-is-genetically-modified-salmon?page=2
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/geneticall7.cfm
http://theweek.com/article/index/206905/genetically-modified-fish-safe-to-eat
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