Author Topic: Speaking of Salmon...  (Read 6543 times)

Roger Bacon

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Speaking of Salmon...
« on: January 01, 2013, 05:03:32 PM »
 ::)

Approval for gene-modified salmon spawns controversy
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23035-approval-for-genemodified-salmon-spawns-controversy.html


Fast-growing salmon have cleared another hurdle in an upstream battle to be the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption. After a long and possibly politically motivated delay, federal regulators have released preliminary documents declaring the fish safe to eat and environmentally harmless.

Since 1995, a company called AquaBounty, based in Maynard, Massachusetts, has been seeking approval from the US government to sell its AquAdvantage fish. These Pacific salmon have been modified with a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon, which causes them to grow twice as fast as normal fish.

Rather than releasing the fish into the wild, the company plans to engineer its eggs in highly secure tanks in Canada, then ship them to Panama to mature. As a precaution, the fish are all female and contain three copies of each chromosome rather than two, rendering them sterile.

Controversy has engulfed the fish since their creation, but the concern is more about their potential ecological impacts than dangers to human health. Organisations such as the Marine Fish Conservation Network, which promotes sustainable fishing practices, worry that the transgenic salmon could outcompete wild salmon if they escape. "The risk of escapes and damage to wild ocean fisheries is simply too great to be left to chance," director Matt Tinning said in a statement.

The organisation says it has not yet had time to review the newly released assessment, published on 27 December by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In two preliminary documents, it declares that AquaBounty's safety measures are sufficient, that the fish would have no significant environmental impact and that they are safe for human consumption.
Delayed release

The timing of the release has sparked suspicion of political interference, as it came hours after a non-profit organisation called the Genetic Literacy Project published FDA documents showing that the assessment had been complete since April and should have been released immediately. The organisation's investigation suggests that the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), concerned over the issue's sensitivity, had blocked the documents' release until after the presidential election.

Asked about the allegations, the OSTP referred New Scientist to the FDA, whose spokesperson Shelly Burgess declined to comment. But she says that the agency is being particularly cautious as the salmon are the first transgenic animal to reach this point in the approval process.

Final approval of the salmon could still be some way off, however. The public now has 60 days to comment on the documents before the FDA will review them again. Burgess says it is impossible to predict how long the next review might take.

The True Adonis

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2013, 05:05:54 PM »
Nothing wrong with it.  This is a topic where lunatic Liberals and weirdo right-wingers converge and share the same stance on.  Both are dead wrong.

el numero uno

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2013, 05:24:40 PM »
::)

Approval for gene-modified salmon spawns controversy
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn23035-approval-for-genemodified-salmon-spawns-controversy.html


Fast-growing salmon have cleared another hurdle in an upstream battle to be the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption. After a long and possibly politically motivated delay, federal regulators have released preliminary documents declaring the fish safe to eat and environmentally harmless.

Since 1995, a company called AquaBounty, based in Maynard, Massachusetts, has been seeking approval from the US government to sell its AquAdvantage fish. These Pacific salmon have been modified with a growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon, which causes them to grow twice as fast as normal fish.

Rather than releasing the fish into the wild, the company plans to engineer its eggs in highly secure tanks in Canada, then ship them to Panama to mature. As a precaution, the fish are all female and contain three copies of each chromosome rather than two, rendering them sterile.

Controversy has engulfed the fish since their creation, but the concern is more about their potential ecological impacts than dangers to human health. Organisations such as the Marine Fish Conservation Network, which promotes sustainable fishing practices, worry that the transgenic salmon could outcompete wild salmon if they escape. "The risk of escapes and damage to wild ocean fisheries is simply too great to be left to chance," director Matt Tinning said in a statement.

The organisation says it has not yet had time to review the newly released assessment, published on 27 December by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In two preliminary documents, it declares that AquaBounty's safety measures are sufficient, that the fish would have no significant environmental impact and that they are safe for human consumption.
Delayed release

The timing of the release has sparked suspicion of political interference, as it came hours after a non-profit organisation called the Genetic Literacy Project published FDA documents showing that the assessment had been complete since April and should have been released immediately. The organisation's investigation suggests that the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), concerned over the issue's sensitivity, had blocked the documents' release until after the presidential election.

Asked about the allegations, the OSTP referred New Scientist to the FDA, whose spokesperson Shelly Burgess declined to comment. But she says that the agency is being particularly cautious as the salmon are the first transgenic animal to reach this point in the approval process.

Final approval of the salmon could still be some way off, however. The public now has 60 days to comment on the documents before the FDA will review them again. Burgess says it is impossible to predict how long the next review might take.

They are right, problems can be huge if the salmon escape.

Roger Bacon

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2013, 05:39:44 PM »
They are right, problems can be huge if the salmon escape.

That's what I'm rolling my eyes at, I can't stand this insanity.  You have to pay more for Organic just so you know it's non GMO.

Monsanto fights to keep this stuff unlabled, while their executives stock up on non GMO foods.

The True Adonis

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2013, 05:53:00 PM »
That's what I'm rolling my eyes at, I can't stand this insanity.  You have to pay more for Organic just so you know it's non GMO.

Monsanto fights to keep this stuff unlabled, while their executives stock up on non GMO foods.
Nothing wrong with GMO at all.  Everything is a GMO when it comes down to it.  Ever see what a banana looked like before humans started manipulating them via selective breeding?

Roger Bacon

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2013, 06:12:33 PM »
Nothing wrong with GMO at all.  Everything is a GMO when it comes down to it.  Ever see what a banana looked like before humans started manipulating them via selective breeding?

I hate to disagree with you, because you're right 95% of the time.  You're way off on this one though.

Hulkster

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2013, 06:43:22 PM »
there is a difference between selective breeding (aka line breeding) and being geneticaly modified.

selective breeding is just selecting based on traits already present. Mendal did this with pea plants 400 years ago and we having been doing similiar things ever since.

genetically modified (aka transgenic) involves transplanting or splicing one gene from one species into another species.

it is not the same thing.

its the latter process that we dont know what the long term ecological effects are.

hence the concern.

oh, and Ronnie is still better than dorian.
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WillGrant

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2013, 06:45:53 PM »

Shockwave

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2013, 06:52:03 PM »
there is a difference between selective breeding (aka line breeding) and being geneticaly modified.

selective breeding is just selecting based on traits already present. Mendal did this with pea plants 400 years ago and we having been doing similiar things ever since.

genetically modified (aka transgenic) involves transplanting or splicing one gene from one species into another species.

it is not the same thing.

its the latter process that we dont know what the long term ecological effects are.

hence the concern.

Agreed. Never thought I'd see the day that I'd agree with Hulkster.

WOOO

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #9 on: January 01, 2013, 06:53:04 PM »
Nothing wrong with GMO at all.  Everything is a GMO when it comes down to it.  Ever see what a banana looked like before humans started manipulating them via selective breeding?


d-u-m-b

selective breeding and genetic modification are like comparing a toaster and the space shuttle

el numero uno

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2013, 07:05:57 PM »
Nothing wrong with GMO at all.  Everything is a GMO when it comes down to it.  Ever see what a banana looked like before humans started manipulating them via selective breeding?

Fucking LOL! Comercials bananas are natural hybrids between M. acuminata and M. balbisiana, but comercial bananas can't be manipulated with selective breeding, they DON'T have seeds!!!

el numero uno

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #11 on: January 01, 2013, 07:07:54 PM »
And yes, GMO and selective breeding are completely different things.

The True Adonis

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #12 on: January 01, 2013, 09:23:47 PM »
there is a difference between selective breeding (aka line breeding) and being geneticaly modified.

selective breeding is just selecting based on traits already present. Mendal did this with pea plants 400 years ago and we having been doing similiar things ever since.

genetically modified (aka transgenic) involves transplanting or splicing one gene from one species into another species.

it is not the same thing.

its the latter process that we dont know what the long term ecological effects are.

hence the concern.

oh, and Ronnie is still better than dorian.
There is no concern in most instances.  GMO is probably the best thing to ever happen to agriculture.

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #13 on: January 01, 2013, 09:24:49 PM »

d-u-m-b

selective breeding and genetic modification are like comparing a toaster and the space shuttle
Not really.  Transgenesis just speeds up the process.

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #14 on: January 01, 2013, 09:36:51 PM »
The anti-GMO movement needs to understand real science if it ever wants to make a case. Right now you are with the climate change deniers, the anti-vaxers, the birth certificate truthers, the no-moon-landing-ers, UFO goofs, holocaust deniers and creationists.

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #15 on: January 02, 2013, 04:43:18 AM »
The anti-GMO movement needs to understand real science if it ever wants to make a case. Right now you are with the climate change deniers, the anti-vaxers, the birth certificate truthers, the no-moon-landing-ers, UFO goofs, holocaust deniers and creationists.

 ::)

as this topic was moved to the nutrition board i'll avoid any further insults

but i know why your nose is so long

the lies are catching up with you

el numero uno

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #16 on: January 02, 2013, 08:46:02 AM »
There is no concern in most instances.  GMO is probably the best thing to ever happen to agriculture.

Not really.  Transgenesis just speeds up the process.

I've never paid attention to your posts so I don't know if you're trolling or you're this dumb.

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #17 on: January 02, 2013, 09:53:51 AM »
::)

as this topic was moved to the nutrition board i'll avoid any further insults

but i know why your nose is so long

the lies are catching up with you
::)
Emotional issue for you? 

Montague

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #18 on: January 02, 2013, 04:03:46 PM »
there is a difference between selective breeding (aka line breeding) and being geneticaly modified.

selective breeding is just selecting based on traits already present. Mendal did this with pea plants 400 years ago and we having been doing similiar things ever since.

genetically modified (aka transgenic) involves transplanting or splicing one gene from one species into another species.

it is not the same thing.

its the latter process that we dont know what the long term ecological effects are.

hence the concern.

oh, and Ronnie is still better than dorian.


Good.

24KT

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #19 on: January 03, 2013, 10:45:33 PM »
There go my smoked salmon breakfasts & appetizers.
I'm gonna miss them  :'(
w

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #20 on: January 04, 2013, 03:38:24 AM »
There go my smoked salmon breakfasts & appetizers.
I'm gonna miss them  :'(

i'm never giving up smoked salmon... it's on my top 5 favorite foods list

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Re: Speaking of Salmon...
« Reply #21 on: January 04, 2013, 07:11:07 AM »
Wild Alaskan smoked Coho salmon is one of the most amazing things I've ever tasted!
Granted, I'm a smoked fish fan to begin with, but nothing beats this stuff.