The infiltrated US Department of Agriculture may have given AquaBounty Technology’s (ABTX) genetically modified salmon a green light, but the Canadian government has issued a draft statement saying that GE salmon is not safe since it is ‘more prone to disease.’
If AquaBounty had their way – the company’s GE salmon would be the first ever approved GM animal approved for human consumption – but Food & Water Watch, the Center for Food Safety, Friends of the Earth, and Consumers Union (among other groups) are asking the USDA to reconsider in light of the 400-page risk assessment drafted by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
“The findings from the Canadian risk assessment show that FDA has based its assessment of this totally unnecessary technology on blind trust,” said Wenonah Hauter. “It’s clear that there are unique safety issues that FDA has failed to consider, which is why we are calling on the agency to terminate its review of GMO salmon.”
Stated in the draft are the following concerns about GE salmon:
- Alarmingly, these GE fish are more susceptible than non-GE domesticated salmon to Aeromonas salmonicida – a disease-causing bacteria. This indicates unique animal health problems and raises environmental and public health concerns that the FDA has never considered, while trusting AquaBounty’s pronouncements with arguable blind faith.