The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved AquAdvantage Salmon as the first genetically modified food from animals, the agency said in a statement. The agency also issued guidance for manufacturers who choose to voluntarily label their products as containing ingredients from GMO sources. The FDA regulates genetically engineered animals under new provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, because the modified DNA introduced into the animal qualifies it as a drug. The AquAdvantage salmon made by AquaBounty Technologies, which some have dubbed a “Frankenfish,” contains a gene that allows it to grow faster than wild or conventional farm-raised Atlantic salmon.
Over time, I’ve become convinced that if there’s one argument guaranteed to be fought as much on emotion as fact, it’s the controversy over genetically modified…well, anything. The latest iteration of the “OMG…FRANKENFOOD!!!!” contretemps has to do with salmon. If you listen to the FDA and evaluate the available information, “Frankensalmon” is a safe to eat fish that can only be raised on inland fish farms in Canada and Panama. They won’t be introduced into waterways, where they might mate with puny, girlie-man salmon. At the risk of turnings this discussion into a “Hans and Frans” parody (“We gonna pump…YOU!!…UP!!”), the flip side of the genetically-modified organism (GMO) argument is that “Frankenfood” is bad, nasty, and dangerous…because we don’t know what the long-term effects of consuming GMOs might be.
I fall somewhere in the middle of the free-for-all. As much as I believe in the power of science, I understand that studies and numbers can be and often are manipulated in order to support one side of an argument. By the same token, I’ve yet to be convinced that the mere fact of a food being GMO makes it bad/nasty/dangerous. I listened to a local TV news reporter interviewing the owner of a seafood shop in southeast Portland who was quick to say, “I would NEVER sell GMO salmon to my customers! We just don’t know whether it’s safe!!”
Adding to the uninformed public hysteria: ALWAYS a good plan, no?
Sure, there’s the “Jurassic Park” scenario, in which genetic modification can lead to something completely out of control and horribly dangerous. Granted, that seems something of a stretch, but for the sake of argument it’s worth consideration. WILL some evil genius lose control of his/her creation, only to see it ravage the planet and everyone on it? Will it end up as the subject of a Steven Spielberg movie? It seems pretty unlikely, but I suppose it might be possible.
More importantly, is “Frankenfish” dangerous to the health and well-being of consumers? In order for AquAdvantage Salmon to be sold, it had to go through a lengthy evaluation process (in this case, almost two decades) include extensive studying and testing, in order to validate that it’s not going to be harmful if consumed.
The decision comes after almost two decades of efforts to win approval for the salmon.
“The FDA has thoroughly analyzed and evaluated the data and information submitted by AquaBounty Technologies regarding AquAdvantage Salmon and determined that they have met the regulatory requirements for approval, including that food from the fish is safe to eat,” Bernadette Dunham, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a statement.
In order for AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish” to allowed to sold for consumption, it had to satisfy several requirements:
It had to be safe to eat
The modified DNA had to be safe for the fish
The fish had to live up to the claims of faster growth
The fish had to be as safe and as nutritious as non-GM Atlantic salmon, with no “biologically relevant differences” in nutrition compared to farm-raised Atlantic salmon
If the FDA was able to do that, which it certifies it has, then it would seem prudent to believe that there’s a very high likelihood that AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish” is fit and safe for human consumption. Does this mean that AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish” is absolutely 100% safe to consume beyond ANY shadow of a doubt? Who knows? That’s a pretty high bar. If that was the standard we use to judge the food we consume, I’d submit we’d all be living off water and not much else.
The truth is that there are no absolute guarantees of safety, and while I’ll agree that eating something that looks like a 747 next to a normally-sized salmon may seem odd, that shouldn’t translate to the assumption that GMO equals dangerous. You may not trust the science, which is your prerogative, but science doesn’t much care what you believe. After almost two decades of research and testing, AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish” has been shown to be safe for human consumption. Before we hop on the “GMO…NO!!!” bandwagon, perhaps we might step back and recognize the potential AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish” has to help alleviate hunger.
Call me naive, but anything that might have at least some potential to alleviate hunger is something I have to assume is a very good thing. That’s not going to be a very popular position here in the crunchy, organic Pacific Northwest, but I just can’t reflexively accept the seemingly iron-clad belief that anything GMO is by definition bad, dangerous, and unfit for human consumption. On this issue, I prefer to live in the realm of empirical reality, and 20 years of data that indicates AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish” to be safe for human consumption seems pretty solid.
Activists may have convinced large grocery chains like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to decline to carry AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish,” but I can’t help thinking that this has happened out of fear, an overabundance of caution and the desire to not risk an emotional public backlash. From my perspective, the fear of AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish” seems not to based on anything resembling science. It’s not a stretch to believe that fear, ignorance, and reaction are driving this bus.
Then there’s this: If you put AquAdvantage Salmon/”Frankenfish” on a plate next to conventional salmon for a taste test, I doubt you’d be able to tell the difference. When you consider the types and quantities of food products we consume that have been genetically modified, I’m not certain being GMO is the biggest problem in our food supply, but fear and ignorance just might be.
