For the whole truth on GMO's read the book Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith. He does not have a horse in the race so you will get some of the best unbiased information available today on the dangers of GMO.
As a nutritionist I advise all my clients to avoid anything to do with this very dangerous technology.
Something to consider - some of the most allergenic foods are also some of the most genetically modified e.g. soy, wheat.
Marilyn - 14 years ago
The biggest danger is that this process will be patented by a company - and now they own the gene. The fish are infertile and can't reproduce naturally. So now the company has a monopoly on the fish supply. In the agricultural world, all farmers worldwide will need to buy GM seed from the one company that owns it every year. How is that going to help the poor of the world? The only ones who really benefit are the upper echalons of the seed companies. The film, "The Future of Food" does an excellent job of explaining all the downsides of GM food.
Marilyn - 14 years ago
The biggest danger is that this process will be patented by a company - and now they own the gene. The fish are infertile and can't reproduce naturally. So now the company has a monopoly on the fish supply. In the agricultural world, all farmers worldwide will need to buy GM seed from the one company that owns it every year. How is that going to help the poor of the world? The only ones who really benefit are the upper echalons of the seed companies. The film, "The Future of Food" does an excellent job of explaining all the downsides of GM food.
Elizabeth Murphy - 14 years ago
Thanks for the clarification. It really sounds harmless. What's all the fuss about? We need to do something to bring back other species of fish that have been harvested nearly to extinction. Maybe this method will apply more generically. Too bad it causes the salmon not to be able to reproduce. Perhaps that can be overcome by doing more science.
Emma - 14 years ago
ummm maybe because GM seeds have bad things in them...? I mean, why else would the mice have bad livers...we know enough to know that.
Gina - 14 years ago
All of you should send in your comments to the FDA when they open the period for public comment on this issue.
And keep in mind, besides the unknown affects on the environment, that research and studies at one time "proved" margarine was healthier than real butter. Only years and years later did we understand that the trans fats in margarine were horrible for humans, much worse than fat from natural butter.
And, more on point, some industry-conducted studies on rats on GM seeds have shown that the rats fed GM seeds suffered from liver damage while those fed non-GM seeds did not. Science is not yet advanced enough for us to understand why.
Rebecca - 14 years ago
Poorly worded poll question. I would not eat genetically modified salmon because I am a vegetarian, so I won't eat any salmon. Many people will not eat salmon, GMO or not.
Emma - 14 years ago
exactly! This shouldn't be released into the public until we explore this further and figure out how we can stop it from screwing up nature even more.
sarah - 14 years ago
We have recently been dealing with a dramatic drop in our bee population, and many speculate that it may be connected to GMO crops. I wonder what unforeseen consequences we can expect from genetically modified fish
NotforGE - 14 years ago
I don't believe there is currently any requirement to label genetically modified grains or fruits or products made from them. Similarly these Salmon packaging won't be labeled as genetically modified either - the fight will not only be to allow GE salmon, but also to allow it with no such label. As consumers at least we should be told what we are sold and let us make the choice whether to consume or not. By not properly labeling, every one of us consumers is made a fool.
If the argument is to cut hunger in the world, first stop converting corn and and other food products to ethanol to power automobiles. Use all possible farmland and resources for that cause and come back to make the case we don't have enough of them.
If the argument is that these genetically modified "who-know-what"s are safe to consume, then make it illegal to raise them anywhere other than confined tanks, label the products as such, and make it a crime to release them to open waters - at least it will be easy to find whose "copyright DNA" is in them.
I like to be an informed consumer, and I know most of the people are as such. Yet how many of us know that more than 80% of CANOLA oil marketed today are made from genetically engineered crop? I would not touch genetically modified salmon/meat if I know thats what I am getting. The troubling thing is I won't be able to make that choice.
Will they(the cooks, market, restaurant) tell me its a modified fish or modified meal?
Emma - 14 years ago
all i mean is that instead of trying to sneak it into our homes, give us a choice! Some people don't care but others are horrified at this. As for me, i prefer natural foods. If you are perfectly fine with it, good for you!
Emma - 14 years ago
oh GOD John, give it a rest. Obama is working his ass off to fix this country that Bush & Cheyanne screwed up so badly. Also, The LEAST they could do is LABEL that it's genetically engineered so that the consumer can say blech! no way! or, whatever. Or, cool! or what ever the hell they want.
ERIC - 14 years ago
Way to go CNN You did it again! You dropped this news item on us as you were instructed by the FDA. NO WARNING. No heads up, no nothing. Come on CNN be ahead of the news, and stop being a lackey for the government and special interest groups....report the news don't wait till we can have no say in the matter. Who' side are you on? You gave us ZERO warning!!! THANKS
AB - 14 years ago
I do not mind people trying to sell Genetically Modified Food, as long as it is labeled as such, and produced and packaged in a way that it does not get mixed up with NATURAL foods.
JOHN - 14 years ago
GIVE US A BREAK! THE OBAMA GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT ---AND THIS SHOWS IT! WHO WOUL EAT THIS CREATURE? DOGS & CATS AND THE UNSUSPECTING FOOD-STAMP POOR. FOR SURE, NOT OBAMA'S FAMILY.
xjdiver - 14 years ago
First of all, "genetically modified" does not mean it has thousands of chemicals injected into it, in fact the chemicals used are only injected into the egg, a single cell. Also, the chemicals used are the same chemicals your body uses every day to replicate your DNA. Simple ligating proteins and polymerases. These chemicals are found all over our bodies because we make them. Also, genetic modification does not create random freak mutations due to the structure of DNA in the first place. If these new genes were "placed wrong" in all likelihood, the fish would grow normally, because the proteins that actually transcribe the DNA cannot attach to any except very specifically coded regions of DNA, mitigating the chance of error, because the new genes are not being used. Furthermore, if the DNA was actually used in a wrong location, 99% of the time it would either kill the fish because it was put in a vital place, or work properly, because DNA is extremely redundant. Before you start fleeing for your lives understand that what happens in these fish happens on a daily basis in all of us, billions of times, DNA is separated, put back together, cut and pasted. Also do you know how babies are made? If you do then this is not a scary prospect.
Also, growth gene does not equal growth hormone. Yes growth gene makes SALMON GROWTH HORMONE which literally has little to no effect on humans what so ever. So, before you go getting angry about GMO foods, realize they really are not poisons, nor can they make them, nor does different DNA harm you.
Bill - 14 years ago
Genetically engineered salmon isn't salmon, it's that simple. Honest labeling should be required to inform consumers and let them make their own decisions. The FDA should not allow giant food conglomerate corporations to use consumers as unwilling human guinea pig test subjects.
dumbfounded - 14 years ago
We already know that growth hormones in food are affecting our childrens growth and maturity so why would the FDA approve growth hormones in Any food!
Emily - 14 years ago
The disturbing part of this FDA approval hearing should not be on the basis of marketing GE salmon, moreover, is why the public/government is allowing this to happen (we spend billions of dollars to keep invasives out of non-native habitats). Even if the FDA has short term successful to GE a nutritional salmon there is no guarantee that the long term effects this fish will have on the environment. Scientifically speaking, there is also no guarantee that one individual (of billions) will not be fertile and capable of reproducing, and I definitely do not believe that this GE cooperation can significantly warrant that these fertile genes will not make it into the environment. Native salmon are already understress due to anthropogenic demands (i.e. dams and water diversions), we as stewards of the environment should make valiant efforts to keep GE salmon from becoming the new.
aag - 14 years ago
Perhaps because I live where we have natural salmon - even hatchery salmon are released for ocean-run - I would absolutely not be interested in genetically engineered salmon. As it stands, they would not be able to allow them to ocean-run, so they would be purely hatchery raised. That has already been proven to be a less-healthy fish (doesn't have same health benefits, significantly lower Omega 3's) as a natural salmon. No thank you.
Jane - 14 years ago
Eat Non GMO Foods--FDA will not allow foods to be labeled as containing GMOs! You have it backwards. Thus there is no way to know if GMOs are there or not except to buy organic --or wild caught, in the case of fish.
GMO anything is BAD! Ever since GMO sugars and grains were introduced and consumed, we have had an increase in allergies, increase in diabetes, and other health problems. There needs to be more generational studies done and the FDA should be conducting studies of their own instead of relying on the industry's research.
EatNonGMOFoods - 14 years ago
This is disgusting. Do you really thing GMO food is "healthy" and has no side effects on humans? You take the FDA's word on it? Wake up people...I wouldn't touch farm-raised fish with a 36 foot poll and if my life depended on it, and now they want to further that by Genetically Modifying it? And yes, the FDA will have to label it as they do now with other GMO foods. I guess I'll just have to add this to the list of things that I refuse to be poisoned by thanks to the FDA's approval.
Donna Suloff - 14 years ago
I have found that hormones in our meats and especially the chicken egg, triggers my migraine headaches. I can't eat anything with egg product in it. When I get a migraine I try to think of what I may have eaten and it always points to something with egg in it. I get an overall headache from meat, but not a migraine. I have tried the "no added hormones" meats and eggs but it doesn't matter. The naturall hormones are too much. It took 35 years of horrible migraines to figure out what triggered them. It may take 35 years of eating a genetically altered fish to see what it does to someone.
Phil - 14 years ago
I've been pumping Humalin and then Humalog insulin into my body for years now. Humalin is human insulin made by genetically altered bacteria and Humalog is an analog of human insulin made the same way. I, and millions of others, are fine. How is this any different than eating genetically altered fish?
Elizabeth - 14 years ago
Ick no. And for those choosing to wait 'awhile' to see how others fare, I don't think any of us really know the definition of 'awhile'. It could be hours, months, years, decades, generations...
We should be working to enhance the natural population instead IMO. You know, quit letting companies dump their toxins into our rivers, etc. No way in hell will I eat this GMO crap that has God knows what injected into them.
Carol - 14 years ago
Why are we worrying so much about eating these healthy fish, while the seafood industry is getting away with adulterating so many of its products with Sodium Tripolyphosphate, a floor cleaner?
Matthias Lambert - 14 years ago
It isn't a question of eating the fish...it will be perfectly consumable. It is aquestion of wht the fish will do to the environment and the effect it could have on native species and natural habitats if they escape. As well as the fall out from farming them on surrounding habitats near farms. Lets worl to preserve and grow the natural species through better environmental practices.
Norman J Smith Jr - 14 years ago
Atlantic Salmon is OK but I prefer Chinook Salmon it's much healthier for you. Pardon the pun but something smells fishy about this Genetically Modified Farm Salmon. First clue is that it is purposely unable to reproduce to protect proprietary rights. Yeah tell me another fish story. I think I'll pass on it for now.
werehawk - 14 years ago
Most people aren't going to know they are eating it. And the real danger is to native salmon, no matter what the company says about fertility.
DJ - 14 years ago
Why create GMO's at all? What's wrong with preserving the species we DO have through conservation and responsible industry? And the tired argument about ending world hunger - we've had GMO grains for some time now, but there aren't any fewer starving people in the world. Ever wonder why?
Mike P. - 14 years ago
I would definitely eat it. Why are people so afraid of scientific progress? If steps like this help avoid a world food shortage we should pursue it.
Steve - 14 years ago
I would eat it if it existed, but I am against creating it in the first place. I don't fear human health impacts but I worry about genetically modified organisms displacing natural species in the wild.
For the whole truth on GMO's read the book Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith. He does not have a horse in the race so you will get some of the best unbiased information available today on the dangers of GMO.
As a nutritionist I advise all my clients to avoid anything to do with this very dangerous technology.
Something to consider - some of the most allergenic foods are also some of the most genetically modified e.g. soy, wheat.
The biggest danger is that this process will be patented by a company - and now they own the gene. The fish are infertile and can't reproduce naturally. So now the company has a monopoly on the fish supply. In the agricultural world, all farmers worldwide will need to buy GM seed from the one company that owns it every year. How is that going to help the poor of the world? The only ones who really benefit are the upper echalons of the seed companies. The film, "The Future of Food" does an excellent job of explaining all the downsides of GM food.
The biggest danger is that this process will be patented by a company - and now they own the gene. The fish are infertile and can't reproduce naturally. So now the company has a monopoly on the fish supply. In the agricultural world, all farmers worldwide will need to buy GM seed from the one company that owns it every year. How is that going to help the poor of the world? The only ones who really benefit are the upper echalons of the seed companies. The film, "The Future of Food" does an excellent job of explaining all the downsides of GM food.
Thanks for the clarification. It really sounds harmless. What's all the fuss about? We need to do something to bring back other species of fish that have been harvested nearly to extinction. Maybe this method will apply more generically. Too bad it causes the salmon not to be able to reproduce. Perhaps that can be overcome by doing more science.
ummm maybe because GM seeds have bad things in them...? I mean, why else would the mice have bad livers...we know enough to know that.
All of you should send in your comments to the FDA when they open the period for public comment on this issue.
And keep in mind, besides the unknown affects on the environment, that research and studies at one time "proved" margarine was healthier than real butter. Only years and years later did we understand that the trans fats in margarine were horrible for humans, much worse than fat from natural butter.
And, more on point, some industry-conducted studies on rats on GM seeds have shown that the rats fed GM seeds suffered from liver damage while those fed non-GM seeds did not. Science is not yet advanced enough for us to understand why.
Poorly worded poll question. I would not eat genetically modified salmon because I am a vegetarian, so I won't eat any salmon. Many people will not eat salmon, GMO or not.
exactly! This shouldn't be released into the public until we explore this further and figure out how we can stop it from screwing up nature even more.
We have recently been dealing with a dramatic drop in our bee population, and many speculate that it may be connected to GMO crops. I wonder what unforeseen consequences we can expect from genetically modified fish
I don't believe there is currently any requirement to label genetically modified grains or fruits or products made from them. Similarly these Salmon packaging won't be labeled as genetically modified either - the fight will not only be to allow GE salmon, but also to allow it with no such label. As consumers at least we should be told what we are sold and let us make the choice whether to consume or not. By not properly labeling, every one of us consumers is made a fool.
If the argument is to cut hunger in the world, first stop converting corn and and other food products to ethanol to power automobiles. Use all possible farmland and resources for that cause and come back to make the case we don't have enough of them.
If the argument is that these genetically modified "who-know-what"s are safe to consume, then make it illegal to raise them anywhere other than confined tanks, label the products as such, and make it a crime to release them to open waters - at least it will be easy to find whose "copyright DNA" is in them.
I like to be an informed consumer, and I know most of the people are as such. Yet how many of us know that more than 80% of CANOLA oil marketed today are made from genetically engineered crop? I would not touch genetically modified salmon/meat if I know thats what I am getting. The troubling thing is I won't be able to make that choice.
Will they(the cooks, market, restaurant) tell me its a modified fish or modified meal?
all i mean is that instead of trying to sneak it into our homes, give us a choice! Some people don't care but others are horrified at this. As for me, i prefer natural foods. If you are perfectly fine with it, good for you!
oh GOD John, give it a rest. Obama is working his ass off to fix this country that Bush & Cheyanne screwed up so badly. Also, The LEAST they could do is LABEL that it's genetically engineered so that the consumer can say blech! no way! or, whatever. Or, cool! or what ever the hell they want.
Way to go CNN You did it again! You dropped this news item on us as you were instructed by the FDA. NO WARNING. No heads up, no nothing. Come on CNN be ahead of the news, and stop being a lackey for the government and special interest groups....report the news don't wait till we can have no say in the matter. Who' side are you on? You gave us ZERO warning!!! THANKS
I do not mind people trying to sell Genetically Modified Food, as long as it is labeled as such, and produced and packaged in a way that it does not get mixed up with NATURAL foods.
GIVE US A BREAK! THE OBAMA GOVERNMENT IS CORRUPT ---AND THIS SHOWS IT! WHO WOUL EAT THIS CREATURE? DOGS & CATS AND THE UNSUSPECTING FOOD-STAMP POOR. FOR SURE, NOT OBAMA'S FAMILY.
First of all, "genetically modified" does not mean it has thousands of chemicals injected into it, in fact the chemicals used are only injected into the egg, a single cell. Also, the chemicals used are the same chemicals your body uses every day to replicate your DNA. Simple ligating proteins and polymerases. These chemicals are found all over our bodies because we make them. Also, genetic modification does not create random freak mutations due to the structure of DNA in the first place. If these new genes were "placed wrong" in all likelihood, the fish would grow normally, because the proteins that actually transcribe the DNA cannot attach to any except very specifically coded regions of DNA, mitigating the chance of error, because the new genes are not being used. Furthermore, if the DNA was actually used in a wrong location, 99% of the time it would either kill the fish because it was put in a vital place, or work properly, because DNA is extremely redundant. Before you start fleeing for your lives understand that what happens in these fish happens on a daily basis in all of us, billions of times, DNA is separated, put back together, cut and pasted. Also do you know how babies are made? If you do then this is not a scary prospect.
Also, growth gene does not equal growth hormone. Yes growth gene makes SALMON GROWTH HORMONE which literally has little to no effect on humans what so ever. So, before you go getting angry about GMO foods, realize they really are not poisons, nor can they make them, nor does different DNA harm you.
Genetically engineered salmon isn't salmon, it's that simple. Honest labeling should be required to inform consumers and let them make their own decisions. The FDA should not allow giant food conglomerate corporations to use consumers as unwilling human guinea pig test subjects.
We already know that growth hormones in food are affecting our childrens growth and maturity so why would the FDA approve growth hormones in Any food!
The disturbing part of this FDA approval hearing should not be on the basis of marketing GE salmon, moreover, is why the public/government is allowing this to happen (we spend billions of dollars to keep invasives out of non-native habitats). Even if the FDA has short term successful to GE a nutritional salmon there is no guarantee that the long term effects this fish will have on the environment. Scientifically speaking, there is also no guarantee that one individual (of billions) will not be fertile and capable of reproducing, and I definitely do not believe that this GE cooperation can significantly warrant that these fertile genes will not make it into the environment. Native salmon are already understress due to anthropogenic demands (i.e. dams and water diversions), we as stewards of the environment should make valiant efforts to keep GE salmon from becoming the new.
Perhaps because I live where we have natural salmon - even hatchery salmon are released for ocean-run - I would absolutely not be interested in genetically engineered salmon. As it stands, they would not be able to allow them to ocean-run, so they would be purely hatchery raised. That has already been proven to be a less-healthy fish (doesn't have same health benefits, significantly lower Omega 3's) as a natural salmon. No thank you.
Eat Non GMO Foods--FDA will not allow foods to be labeled as containing GMOs! You have it backwards. Thus there is no way to know if GMOs are there or not except to buy organic --or wild caught, in the case of fish.
GMO anything is BAD! Ever since GMO sugars and grains were introduced and consumed, we have had an increase in allergies, increase in diabetes, and other health problems. There needs to be more generational studies done and the FDA should be conducting studies of their own instead of relying on the industry's research.
This is disgusting. Do you really thing GMO food is "healthy" and has no side effects on humans? You take the FDA's word on it? Wake up people...I wouldn't touch farm-raised fish with a 36 foot poll and if my life depended on it, and now they want to further that by Genetically Modifying it? And yes, the FDA will have to label it as they do now with other GMO foods. I guess I'll just have to add this to the list of things that I refuse to be poisoned by thanks to the FDA's approval.
I have found that hormones in our meats and especially the chicken egg, triggers my migraine headaches. I can't eat anything with egg product in it. When I get a migraine I try to think of what I may have eaten and it always points to something with egg in it. I get an overall headache from meat, but not a migraine. I have tried the "no added hormones" meats and eggs but it doesn't matter. The naturall hormones are too much. It took 35 years of horrible migraines to figure out what triggered them. It may take 35 years of eating a genetically altered fish to see what it does to someone.
I've been pumping Humalin and then Humalog insulin into my body for years now. Humalin is human insulin made by genetically altered bacteria and Humalog is an analog of human insulin made the same way. I, and millions of others, are fine. How is this any different than eating genetically altered fish?
Ick no. And for those choosing to wait 'awhile' to see how others fare, I don't think any of us really know the definition of 'awhile'. It could be hours, months, years, decades, generations...
We should be working to enhance the natural population instead IMO. You know, quit letting companies dump their toxins into our rivers, etc. No way in hell will I eat this GMO crap that has God knows what injected into them.
Why are we worrying so much about eating these healthy fish, while the seafood industry is getting away with adulterating so many of its products with Sodium Tripolyphosphate, a floor cleaner?
It isn't a question of eating the fish...it will be perfectly consumable. It is aquestion of wht the fish will do to the environment and the effect it could have on native species and natural habitats if they escape. As well as the fall out from farming them on surrounding habitats near farms. Lets worl to preserve and grow the natural species through better environmental practices.
Atlantic Salmon is OK but I prefer Chinook Salmon it's much healthier for you. Pardon the pun but something smells fishy about this Genetically Modified Farm Salmon. First clue is that it is purposely unable to reproduce to protect proprietary rights. Yeah tell me another fish story. I think I'll pass on it for now.
Most people aren't going to know they are eating it. And the real danger is to native salmon, no matter what the company says about fertility.
Why create GMO's at all? What's wrong with preserving the species we DO have through conservation and responsible industry? And the tired argument about ending world hunger - we've had GMO grains for some time now, but there aren't any fewer starving people in the world. Ever wonder why?
I would definitely eat it. Why are people so afraid of scientific progress? If steps like this help avoid a world food shortage we should pursue it.
I would eat it if it existed, but I am against creating it in the first place. I don't fear human health impacts but I worry about genetically modified organisms displacing natural species in the wild.