"GM salmon . . . [has] already shown that they . . . easily contaminate other fish populations"
The debate on food seems matched only by the fascist debate on climate. In my best Colonel Schultz voice, "You vill accept that CO2 drives up temperatures," though the evidence and trends suggest, no, prove otherwise. Just as Global warming is forced down our throats with threats to any dissenters, a position that receives the same hostilities as that of a Holocaust denier, we are being squeezed to believe that genetically modified foods are just as healthy as the real thing. I don't know about you, but even farm-raised fish has a terrible smell. And smell and taste both are indicators of nutrient-dense foods. Talapia is one of the worst offenders. I have literally gotten sick and weak from eating farm-raised salmon at one off-brand store. And when I have examined the seafood section in a Vons store in Brea, CA I get almost nauseous looking at the meat that does not teem with nutrients and benefits of omega 3s.
AquaBounty, a lab that genetically modifies its salmon, was very covert in its development of
genetically modified salmon, eliciting a lawsuit [from] the
Canadian government for producing GM salmon eggs, imported from
facilities in Panama.
I wonder why.
Now that the FDA has deemed GM salmon ‘safe for sale,
how will you know if your store [carries] it, [given that] the
FDA does not require labeling? AquaBounty’s answer is vague.
That's an excellent question. So now the man, the customer, the buyer of fish is being treated the same way that the city water departments treats its tax-paying residents--by feeding them a chemical agent, fluouride, without their consent. Now, fish buyers will get the same treatment from a flourishing of genetically modified fish hatcheries or labs that sell GM salmon that requires no labeling. How then will the customer know what he is getting--Frankenfood or the real thing? He won't.
“It is too early to discuss commercialization plans,
but there are several paths to market that are being considered,” AquaBounty
spokesperson Dave Conley told Civil Eats. [1]
How about the path that satisfies the customer? Do customers prefer their salmon to come pureed into a finely ground, watery paste? It doesn't seem like these GM outfits really care. They are desperate to con a public into thinking that fish doesn't have to be fish to be fish. That fish don't have to be fished from the sea or the lake or the river to be fish. The GM boys are magicians. And I for one want none of their magic.
Your grocery store, farmers or fish market won’t have to
tell you whether or not you are purchasing GM fish. According to the “voluntary guidelines for
GMO labeling” the FDA proposed when it approved the salmon last
week, that decision will be left entirely up to the companies selling the fish.
Let's see, so we'll be paying for wild caught but won't know if we get farm raised, GMO, or wild caught? Is that it? I think the customer will become remarkably savvy. He can point to several things about the fish to determine whether it is wild caught or not. Generally, farm raised salmon is brighter in color from added food coloring. The fish often smells fishy. The fishier the smell means that it is raised on farms with bad smelling GMO feed.
Stores like Costco have vowed that ‘for now’ they aren’t planning on
selling the GM fish, but as Food & Water Watch assistant
director Patty Lovera says, the odds that companies will disclose this
information are incredibly low. In fact, she has yet to see a food company do
so. “The practical effect of voluntary labeling is no labeling.”
CostCo "vows" not to sell GM fish but without labelling how will the customer know? Does he merely rely on the promise of a large retailer?
There are a few ways to minimize the possibility of eating GM
fish, though. Aside from demanding that your grocery store disclose whether or
not it is selling the genetically modified variety, the country-of-origin (COOL)
label required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has to say where
the salmon comes from. Many retailers also label if salmon is farm-raised or
wild caught.
Problem with relying on labeling is the government, i.e., the FDA, has given a pass to most food manufacturers. Labeling is no longer required, particularly with beef.
This makes no sense.
Though the GM salmon (supposedly grown in captivity), have
already shown that they could easily contaminate other fish populations, even
brown trout, if you purchase wild caught fish that is NOT grown in Panama, the
chances that you’ll be eating GM fish should significantly decrease.
Out of sight, out of mind. The salmon is all mixed in with other species of salmon--GM, wild caught, and farm-raised.
Furthermore, if the salmon has been processed and added to
other ingredients, like salmon spread or a salmon burger, it is more likely to
have been grown with GM salmon.
As of today, according to Center for Food Safety analyst,
Jaydee Hanson, the only commercially-grown salmon in Panama is genetically
modified.
Sources:
