Genetically engineered salmon, if approved by FDA, could destroy the salmon industry

Wednesday, October 06, 2010 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: genetically modified, salmon, health news

(NaturalNews) As the world awaits the FDA's decision on whether to approve genetically modified salmon as "safe enough" to allow into the food supply, it seems that not enough people in the existing fishing industries have really thought this through. As you'll see here, approval of GE salmon could destroy the existing salmon industry. Why? Here's the reason:

The FDA says that once it approves GE salmon (which now seems likely), it will not require GE salmon to be labeled as "genetically modified" or "genetically engineered." In fact, the FDA ridiculously claims it would be illegal to require these GE fish to be labeled as such because they are, in the minds of the FDA, no different from regular fish.

Now here's why this matters: If consumers are not told which salmon is GE, many will avoid buying ALL salmon.

In fact, organizations like NaturalNews and many others like the Organic Consumers Association would likely take strong action, warning people to avoid all salmon because you never know which salmon is genetically modified.

As word about the non-labeling of GE salmon spreads, more and more consumers would avoid buying salmon altogether. This is precisely how the introduction of GE salmon into the food supply could destroy the existing salmon industry.

The FDA's inexcusable non-labeling of genetically modified salmon creates distrust in the entire category. And just as the natural health community has been successful in warning people to avoid MSG and HFCS, we will almost certainly be successful in warning people away from eating salmon, too (if GE salmon infects the food supply). And that's a shame because, by and large, the natural health industry supports wild-caught salmon as a healthy source of omega-3 oils. But virtually overnight, the FDA's approval of GE salmon could reverse our position on this issue and make us outspoken opponents of buying and consuming salmon.

I wonder if the salmon industry is aware that this situation could devastate existing salmon farms and fisheries?

Opening the floodgates to more GE factory farmed animals

That GE salmon could cause sharp losses across the existing salmon industry is only the beginning of the problems potentially unleashed by the FDA's disturbing shortsightedness. There has never been a genetically engineered animal approved for use in the U.S. food supply, but once the FDA approves GE salmon, it sets a precedent for other genetically engineered animals to follow.

Imagine a genetically modified cow with triple growth hormone genes, carrying muscles (meat) so large that it can't even stand on its own feet. It is grown in a "cow factory" where it suffers every day from the pain of its unnatural existence. It never sees the outdoors or experiences a single day of freedom in a pasture. Instead, it is fed antibiotics and GMO feed crops through a system of tubes, much like the imprisoned characters in The Matrix. The sole purpose of its life is to grow premium steaks and ground beef, sold by a company that genetically engineers animals to create greed-driven food profits without a single thought about the suffering of the animal itself.

This is exactly what could be unleashed by the FDA's decision on GE salmon. Only it wouldn't end with just cows: Imagine genetically modified pigs, chickens and lambs, all distorted into artificial meat-producing forms to satisfy corporate profits.

Vaccines from sheep flesh

And it won't end with just food, either. Scientists are already experimenting with genetically modified animals who "grow" pharmaceuticals. Imagine a factory farm of sheep whose bodies are tapped to produce vaccines or hormone drugs.

This is the sick, demented world to which the biotechnology industry is now looking for the next wave of profits. Fueled by arrogant greed and a deeply-rooted disrespect for the natural world (and the suffering of sentient beings, which include farm animals), they will pursue bottom-line profits by any means necessary... even if it means playing God with the genes of animals and giving rise to Franken-animals that experience tremendous pain and suffering while being grown for food. (Much like in The Matrix, once again.)

The pain and suffering committed by factory farms today is more than enough reason to consider giving up all conventionally-raised meat products, by the way. But it could get far worse if the industry is allowed to start genetically engineering mutant animals designed to produce more meat (or milk) more quickly and with higher profits. And it all starts with GE salmon.

How do we even know, by the way, whether the genetically modified salmon who grow twice as fast as regular salmon experience some sort of unnatural pain as a result of their gene distortions? These gene modifications can, from another point of view, be described as a kind of "birth defect," and some birth defects quite literally result in tremendous suffering for those being unfortunate enough to be affected by them.

Not surprisingly, the experience of the animal isn't even being taken into account by the FDA! This agency, which is blind to the experience of animals, only cares about the impact of GE salmon on people who eat its flesh, not about the experience of the fish.

If this same lack of empathy is applied to future decisions regarding GE animals, it will only lead us down a dark path of Frankenfood misery, where humanity becomes the monster that creates horrific mutant animals to be grown and harvested in dark places, behind the closed doors of the sickening meat industry.

Action you can take right now

What can you do to stop this crime against nature? For starters, you can contact the FDA right now and tell them two things:

1) You oppose allowing GE salmon to be introduced into the food supply.
2) If it is approved, you support honest labeling of the salmon to indicate that it is genetically engineered.

Find the FDA's contact information here: http://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/C...

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Outreach and Information Center
5100 Paint Branch Parkway HFS-009
College Park, MD 20740-3835
Toll-Free Information Line:

1-888-SAFEFOOD
(1-888-723-3366)
Industry email: [email protected]
Consumers email: [email protected]

Get ready to boycott salmon

If the FDA approves GE salmon, get ready to join NaturalNews in a nationwide boycott of salmon products.

As long as GE salmon is not honestly labeled, we will boycott salmon products, and we will coordinate with other non-profits who share our belief that consumers have a right to know what they're buying and eating.

For the FDA to say that they refuse to require the honest labeling of GE salmon is an outrageous insult to consumer intelligence. It's beyond an insult, actually: It's more like a crime against the People because it consciously seeks to misinform the public about what they're eating.

This demonstrates yet again how dangerous the FDA has actually become. Far from protecting consumers, the FDA has become the single greatest threat to the health and safety of the American people. This agency actively seeks to keep people in the dark about what they're buying and eating. It is a purveyor of ignorance and disinformation, and it is engaged in a conspiracy to commit yet another crime against humanity (against the entire planet, actually) in order to protect biotech profits.

Why can't the FDA just tell the truth and, at minimum, require that GE salmon be labeled as such?

Because being honest apparently isn't in the agency's genes. Maybe we need to genetically modify the FDA and insert some "truth hormone" proteins so it attains the ability to tell the truth. That would be a radical modification from the current behavior of the agency, wouldn't it?