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As the FDA considers approving the first genetically-engineered animal for our dinner tables, debate rages over possible health risks and the ethics of a super salmon. Some call it a revolutionary panacea, others resist the so-called Frankenfood, but no matter the outcome, this is only the beginning.
New England: Home to decades of crusty American fisherman with weathered faces and salty mustaches, is also home to AquaBounty Technologies, where a new breed of fishermen is more likely wear lab coats. Under debate is their mixing of genes from a Chinook salmon with an ocean pout, a huge fish with antifreeze proteins in its blood. (Unilever is already using the pout to improve the consistency and freezing abilities of its ice cream brands.)
We have completed two more steps in the approval process for our AquAdvantage Salmon. The meetings have demonstrated how the application of our technology will enable the safe and sustainable production of a high quality fish that is no different in composition from other farmed Atlantic salmon. We now await the completion of the deliberative process and the formal decision of the FDA.
--Dr. Ronald Stotish, President and CEO of AquaBounty, company press release
The resulting fish grows twice as fast as wild salmon, and the antifreeze factor means it can withstand very cold temperatures, so it can be grown and harvested year round. Given the state of an exploding U.S. population -- both in numbers and in waistlines -- more fish for everyone sounds positive. Not to mention the scary reality that our oceans are being over fished. (Although I anticipate an outcry about jobs from those same salty fishermen.)
Another factor here is the carbon footprint of the salmon that most of us buy today. Fact is, the majority of it comes from Chile or Norway -- too far for a locavore to be comfy. Until that golden FDA approval arrives, eggs are being hatched at a facility in Prince Edward Island, Canada with plans for the fish to be grown in limited quantities at a company facility in Panama.
Yesterday, even members of the Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee, who are generally in favor of biotechnology, raised serious concerns around some of the science, citing the poor methodology and construction of the studies, which were provided by AquaBounty. The small data sets, the poor design, and the fact that the company killed off salmon that were deformed prior to doing a physical analysis for comparison with non-GE fish were all cited. They didn’t test enough fish, or the most appropriate types of salmon that would be likely to end up on consumer’s plates.
--Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Watch, company press release.
But concerns over the super fish have shadowed the FDA approval process. The reality that the final product would NOT have to be labeled as genetically engineered (GE) outrages some consumer groups. Meanwhile, it has been pointed out that the new fish could be more allergenic than their wild counterparts -- and this is from AquaBounty's own data.
You have this technology that allows you to essentially move proteins around from food to food. You can move a highly allergenic protein into a new food, and no one will know to avoid the new food.
--Margaret Mellon, director, Union of Concerned Scientists' Food and Environment Program, quoted in Mother Jones.
Of course, there's the concern that the super fish will end up getting mixed in with their wild counterparts, confounding both God and Mother Nature with dire consequences. (This has happened before.) AquaBounty has addressed this concern with the assurance that the fish will be farmed inland, far from natural water sources. And, even if there was an escape, the rivers would be too salty or warm for the fish to survive. Furthermore, all the fish would be sterile females so the chances of cross-cross-breeding are quite low.
The paranoid science fiction nerd in me has to wonder where all this is headed. Creating our own species for consumption sounds ominous, like something served up in The Twilight Zone. Then again, would I rather see Americans eat more super fish than hamburgers harvested from Cowshwitz? Well, yes. Yes, I would.
If so, than what is next? Canada has already developed a pig that has more environmentally-friendly manure, but no big outcry on that one yet. Ultimately, this is the one comment that made me consider accepting this new development:
The
