U.S. Environmentalists Sue To Overturn Approval Of GMO Salmon
Health regulators here in the US are facing a lawsuit from a coalition of environmental organizations who are seeking to overturn the government’s approval of a type of genetically engineered salmon that will be farmed for human consumption. In a lawsuit filed at the end of March, the Center for Food Safety, Food and Water Watch, Friends of the Earth (and other groups) allege that the FDA failed to, “consider all of the environmental risks of the fish when the agency approved it in November”, reports Reuters.
The complaint says that the FDA cleared the product, created by AquaBounty Technologies, without the proper authority to regulate genetically engineered animals produced for food. While the agency would not comment on the lawsuit, its approval of the salmon came after a 20-year review. It is also the first approval of an animal food source whose DNA has been scientifically modified.
The GMO salmon can reach market size in half the time of conventional salmon, which saves time and money and AquaBounty is confident the FDA’s approval will stand. Their Chief Executive Ron Stotish said the FDA was, “extraordinarily thorough and transparent in the review and approval of our application.” But their approval process was limited in its environmental assessment, not fully evaluating the potential that the AquaBounty salmon might escape from the facilities where they are grown.
From the Reuters article:
“General Mills Inc and other major food companies are rolling out new disclosures on products to comply with a Vermont law that will require labels on foods made with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
Major retailers, including Kroger Co and Target Corp, have already said they do not plan to stock AquaBounty salmon on store shelves. It is not yet available for sale.”
The FDA’s approval of the salmon could serve as a precedent for other GMO animals and activists are worried. This lawsuit seeks to prohibit the FDA from further action on the fish (or any other genetically engineered animal for human consumption) until Congress gives an agency clear authority over these “products”.
For those of us who watch these things with great interest, for those of us who want to know what we are eating- who believe this is our right- this legal challenge is coming at the perfect time; it’s a reiteration of what we have been saying all along. And it’s working…don’t give up. Keep using your voice to demand the freedom to know what’s in your food or what your food is!
XO- Erin
Source: Reuters
