Love To Eat Salmon?

Smoked salmon, or any kind of fresh wild salmon, is my favorite food.  Unlike the farm raised or genetically-engineered salmon that is sold in most grocery stores and fish markets, wild salmon meat is firm – not soggy – and flavorful.  Unfortunately, food scientists continue to mess with nature by genetically engineering a super salmon comprised of Atlantic salmon (farm raised), deep-water ocean eelpout, and Pacific Chinook salmon. 

So what’s wrong with this?

Their goal is to create a super salmon that grows twice as fast so they can reap profits quicker.  But the real problem is that this GE salmon has the potential to mate with endangered salmon species, outcompete the wild salmon for food and habitat, and introduce new diseases.  Beyond these issues, I’m worried about how our bodies will respond to yet another GE food that we consume.

Like all consumer issues today, our government and the FDA have been looking the other way and not considering risk assessments and allowing these practices to continue without proper oversight. 

The good news, however, is that the courts are leveling the playing field and pressing federal agencies to be accountable for omitting facts.  The FDA is now required to provide all relevant documents so the courts can decide whether or not these GE salmon should be raised and sold to people.

Let’s just hope this review is done with the intent of protecting consumers, and not corporate greed.