Would you eat genetically modified salmon?

[shann0]

www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2011/10/would-you-eat-genetically-modified-salmon.html

Would you eat genetically modified salmon?

October 27, 2011 10:13 AM | Read 100 comments100
By Community Team

AquaBounty Technologies, a U.S.-based company with a plant in P.E.I., plans to sell its genetically modified salmon eggs to any approved fish farmer if it gets regulatory approval.

The AquaBounty experimental fish plant in Bay Fortune, P.E.I., produces the genetically modified Atlantic salmon eggs. Implanted genes make the fish grow at twice the natural rate.

AquaBounty has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the fish for commercial sale as food. If the company is successful, the salmon would be the first genetically modified food animal on the market.

Some environmentalists worry about the possibility of GM salmon breeding with wild salmon. AquaBounty says all its salmon are female, most are sterile, and they would be raised in land-based facilities.

Proponents of farmed fish also say that raising fish in captivity has a lower impact on the environment than capturing wild fish from the world's oceans.

Would you eat genetically modified salmon? Would you want to know if the fish you buy came from genetically modified eggs? Let us know what you think.

[baydoll]

I wouldn't eat genetically modified anything.

[shann0]

Of course, if you KNEW it was GMO you wouldn't eat it. But since GMO is not labeled, we have all eaten it. Most restaurants use Soybean Oil in their fryers and 95% of Soy is GMO. GMO sugar beets have recently been introduced, so if you don't see Cane sugar, it's probably GMO because GMO is cheaper than the real thing which makes it attractive for companies who are trying to make a profit.

This salmon thing is horrifying though, because since salmon swim long distances there is the potential for this to be spread into the general population which would likely wipe out the natural salmon population.

[shann0]

Get a load of the Neuro Linguistic Programming in the video on this story. Geesh! Must go to the link to see the video...

www.kivitv.com/news/local/133183333.html

GMOs are taking over your pantry

Idaho farmer Phil Geertson was an alfalfa seed grower for many years, before losing out on big parts of his export market.

He saw it coming.

“We were in the plant-breeding business along with raising alfalfa seeds, so I knew what would happen when genetically modified alfalfa was introduced into the area,” Geertson said. “It would contaminate our seed and we would lose markets because of it.”

His conventional alfalfa was planted near fields of genetically modified alfalfa. Because of cross-pollination, his crop was contaminated.

Many overseas markets, including Europe, won’t touch crops with even a trace of genetic modification.

Geertson understands the concern.

“There have been no tests to determine they’re safe. I know this will surprise a lot of people but it’s the truth,” he said.

Geertson is concerned about what GMOs are doing to the nation’s crops. He says conventional alfalfa is ruined because of cross-pollination. But he’s also concerned about what it’s doing to food when GMO alfalfa sprayed with massive amounts of pesticides is fed to cows.

“The glysophate in the alfalfa does not dissipate, and it’s then fed to the cows,” he said. “I think everyone realizes what you feed to the cow then comes back in the milk.”

GMOs are crops modified with a completely foreign species to introduce a new trait. Most are built to withstand weed killers. But some people are concerned about potential health risks associated with genetically engineered crops.

But not all farmers agree with the concern about so-called Roundup Ready technology.

“[Consumers] have no reason to fear it at all,” said Doug Jones, the executive director for Growers for Biotechnology. “They probably buy Roundup and spray it on their own lawn at home. It’s exactly the same product. We spray it with much bigger sprayers in the agricultural community.”

Studies suggest more than 70 percent of non-organic food products contain some sort of genetically modified ingredients. Jones says it’s a new technology, but the science behind it is old.

“Now it allows us to not only to develop plants that are resistant to certain herbicides, but also to generate their own insecticide,” he said. increase yield, increase quality, reduce our carbon footprint through less trips through the field.”
Jones points out that genetically modified crops are easier to grow and can meet food demands of a growing world population. He says it increases yield and quality.

I asked him what the concern was about.

“Lack of knowledge, lack of education,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with genetically engineered foods. Millions and millions of meals have been served and nobody has proven to be sickened from eating genetically modified ingredients to this point.”

Our understanding on the effects of GMOs is limited. But there’s enough evidence of ill-effects that many people have been raising red flags.

“Regulators have not listened to the scientists who’ve done research and are concerned about the safety of this food,” said Dr. Peter Cohen, a board-certified Internal Medicine Specialist with St. Luke’s.

Cohen is concerned about the possible toxicity of GMOs, and cites animal studies that associated GM food with infertility and changes in major organs.

“The American Academy of Envionmental Medicine has asked all physicians to ask their patients not to eat GMO foods and I believe that’s very valid,” he said, adding that he warns his patients that GM food is not the same as conventional food.

“Americans have become so disconnected with their food supply, which is really astounding. I am astounded that I am as disconnected as I was,” said Jenny Easley, co-founder of GMO Free Idaho.

Easley and Leslie Stoddard co-founded GMO Free Idaho. They were inspired to research the issue after watching documentaries about the issue. Their aim is to educate Idahoans about genetically modified foods. They created a shopping guide and urge people to buy locally.

“For me, this definitely is a moral issue. I think people need to understand that these companies, literally, own patents on life. And this causes many complications,” Stoddard said.

Jones says for Idaho, there’s another factor at stake.

“Here in the Treasure Valley, what they need to understand is biotechnology brings millions of dollars to this Valley,” Jones said. “Most of the major seed companies who develop these plants have research and production facilities right here.”

It’s an issue that won’t be going away anytime soon.

[baydoll]

Okay so not only are TPTB poisoning our air (via chemtrails) and our water (floride) but they're trying to poison all the food we eat too?

I am so ready to leave this sick and evil world behind it isn't funny.