[Sustain] Tell the FDA you won’t eat GMO salmon

Tue Sep 14 10:50:29 PDT 2010

      **Tell  the  FDA  to  say  NO  to GMO  Salmon! **
      <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=1>

<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=2>

      **Act today to keep this freaky fish off your plate! **
      <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=3>

Sign this petition and send your message to the FDA:

I urge you to reject the approval of AquaBounty's genetically modified 
GMO salmon.

As the first transgenic species to be intended for human consumption, 
AquaBounty's GMO fish has failed to meet the most basic requirements of 
peer-reviewed sciencific standards. Unfortunately, the FDA has failed to 
require rigorous independent scientific testing to adequately protect 
the safety of human health, wild fish populations and the environment.

It is unacceptable that consumers continue to be denied their right to 
know what's in their food and how it's produced. Also, under current 
law, these genetically engineered salmon would not have to be labeled, 
therefore leaving consumers in the dark about what they are eating.

Clicking below will add your name to this petition.

<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=4>

    *Tell the FDA you won't eat GMO salmon!*
    <http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=5>

Massive mutant GMO salmon, genetically engineered to grow twice as fast 
as wild salmon, are coming to a table near you if you don’t act today.

On September 3rd, a panel of three Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
officials declared that genetically modified salmon were “safe” for 
human consumption. [1] Somehow, the elite FDA panel arrived at this 
"decision" based on “scientific research” provided by AquaBounty 
Technologies, the same company that stands to profit from introducing 
its patented genes onto our plates.

With the potential approval of GMO salmon, Americans are now entering an 
alarming new era of genetic experimentation with food animals, nature 
and the human population. Already the scientific community is warning 
against the real risk that these unnaturally engineered fish pose to 
wild species, the environment and human health.

*Act today to stop the FDA from allowing this disaster to happen! Click 
here to automatically sign your name to the petition demanding that the 
FDA halt approval of GMO salmon 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=6>*.

*http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=8 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=7>*

Known as “macro-mutants”, AquaBounty’s GMO salmon are designed to ignore 
natural cycles of food sources and wild fish mating patterns that have 
existed for eons. [2]

While AquaBounty's GMO salmon are only days away from being approved, 
the FDA has only seen scientific studies provided by the company that 
stands to profit from these patented genes. Since AquaBounty's GMO 
salmon are being regulated under the FDA's new animal drug provision, 
real independent scientific studies were not required. [3]

If history and the law of unintended consequences has taught us 
anything, the FDA’s approval of transgenic GMO mutant fish will be a 
disaster. For years independent scientists have been warning us about 
the dangers posed by these GMO salmon.

*Once again, corporations and our government are trying to place profits 
over people.** Act today to stop the FDA from allowing this disaster to 
happen! Click here to automatically sign your name to the petition 
demanding that the FDA halt approval of GMO salmon 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=9>*.

*http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=11 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=10>*

*What will these GMO salmon do to the environment?*

One key problem with AquaBounty’s current business model is that they 
intend to sell the patented GMO salmon eggs to giant aquatic fish 
“farms” and not raise the fish themselves. [4] By becoming the Monsanto 
of aquaculture in simply selling the seed stock, AquaBounty solves a key 
infrastructure problem, but opens the door to mismanagement of its 
product and potential extinction of wild species. While the FDA states 
that the patented GMO salmon will be raised on inland fish farm 
facilities, there is no guarantee that the sold eggs might not 
accidentally end up in open-water ocean net pens or accidentally be 
spilled during transport.

If this happens, it could spell disaster. Even more alarming is the fact 
that, according to the Environmental Assessment that AquaBounty 
submitted to the FDA*, *these GMO salmon eggs are to be hatched in a 
facility on Prince Edward Island in Canada and raised at an inland 
facility in Panama! [5] That's right, designed in Canada, raised in 
Panama, and ready for your plate here in America. Something smells fishy 
about this arrangement.

If GMO salmon escape into the wild, scientists warn that just 60 GMO 
salmon released into a population of 60,000 could lead to the extinction 
of the wild population in just 40 fish generations. [6] With wild 
Atlantic salmon already on the list of endangered species, the approval 
of AquaBounty’s patented GMO mutant fish may very well be a death 
sentence for wild salmon. One has to ask, what profit could possibly be 
worth such an outcome?

*How will GMO salmon impact human health*?

Because independent scientific studies of AquaBounty’s patented salmon 
have not been allowed, the human health impacts of GMO salmon are not 
currently known. Shockingly, the FDA is relying on scant scientific 
documents provided by AquaBounty itself. In fact, the FDA’s own 
assessment AquaBounty’s studies to determine whether GMO salmon are safe 
for human consumption states that the studies contain “technical flaws” 
and provide “insufficient data”.

For two of the studies submitted, AquaBounty used sample sizes so small 
that they have no scientific credibility, with only 12 fish tested for 
one study, while the study on possible allergic reactions in humans 
involved only "6 fertile fish and 6 infertile fish.” [7] Despite this 
scant evidence, the FDA is currently on the verge of approving the 
companies GMO salmon.

Serious questions remain about eating fish engineered to grow faster and 
how that genetically manipulated trait can impact human health, 
especially that of our most vulnerable populations such as pregnant 
mothers and children.

*Act today to stand up for human health, food safety and the 
environment. Click here to automatically sign your name to a letter that 
tells the FDA that there are consequences to meddling with nature 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=12>*. 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=13>

*http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=15 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/247?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=14>*

Thank you for participating in food democracy!

- Dave, Lisa and The Food Democracy Now Team

*Please consider donating to Food Democracy Now! today – whether it’s 
$10, $25 or $50 
<http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/donate/133?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=16>*. 
http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/donate/133?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=18 
<http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/donate/133?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=17>

We rely on folks like you to keep us going and couldn't do it without 
you! Thanks again for your support.

*Sources*:

1. “Aqua Bounty Biotech Salmon OK to Eat-FDA Staff,” Lisa Richwine, 
/Reuters/, September 3, 2010.

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/243?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=20 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/243?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=19>

2. “Methods to Assess Ecological Risks of Transgenic Fish Releases", 
William M Muir and Richard D Howard, /Genetically Engineered Organisms/, 
Chapter 13, CRC Press 2002.

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/248?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=22 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/248?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=21>

3. "GE Animals Regulated Under New Animal Drug Provisions", FDA.gov 
website, FDA Releases Final Guidance on Genetically Engineered Animals, 
January 15, 2009.

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/251?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=24 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/251?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=23>

4. "Modified Salmon is Safe, FDA Says", Andrew Pollack, /The New York 
Times/, September 3, 2010

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/249?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=26 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/249?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=25>

5. "Enviornmental Assessment for AquAdvantage Salmon", provided to FDA 
by Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc., FDA.gov website

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/250?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=28 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/250?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=27>

6. “Mutant Salmon Coming to a Kitchen Table Near You”, Ariel Schwartz, 
/Fast Company/, July 12, 2010

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/244?ak_proof=1&akid=.96984.GhQb69&t=19&akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=30 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/244?ak_proof=1&akid=.96984.GhQb69&t=18&akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=29>

7. “Would You Eat Genetically Altered Salmon?”, Deniza Gertsberg, 
/AlterNet.com/, September 11, 2010 
http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/246?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=32 
<http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/go/246?akid=202.5168.Sw3CEV&t=31>

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