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GOURMET NEWS MARCH 2016 www.gourmetnews.com NEWS & NOTES 9 Salmon Approval Continued from PAGE 1 Dana Perls, Food and Technology Cam- paigner with Friends of the Earth, an envi- ronmental reform group, says that public concern is based in a lack of consensus in the scientific community over genetically modified foods. "Consumers have strongly vocalized that they don't want to eat GMO seafood or meat," says Perls. "There are far too many risks for consumers to feel that this is sustainable or healthy; in fact, scien- tific studies point to the opposite." Critics of the FDA approval contend that using studies that Aqua Bounty itself conducted is unacceptable, as Aqua Bounty has a stake in the results of the findings. One docu- ment used to counter the FDA's decision is a draft risk assessment of the environmen- tal and human health risks of Aqua Bounty's salmon conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Information in the as- sessment suggests that the genetic modifi- cation to the salmon can produce fish with inconsistent growth rates. This, groups suggest, indicates that the genetic modifi- cation process is not well-controlled or pre- dictable. While the assessment does state that the salmon's accelerated growth rates are highly variable based on environment, a summary of the assessment released by Fisheries and Oceans Canada goes on to in- dicate that AquAdvantage salmon pose a low risk to both the Canadian environment and human health. Jacqueline Claudia, CEO of Love The Wild and formerly the Chief Strategy Offi- cer of Kanpachi Farms, says that the risks involved in adding GMO fish to the menu have been overblown. It should be noted that Love The Wild will not be using genet- ically modified seafood in its products. "From a scientific perspective, a lot of is- sues in the media are just not true," Clau- dia says. For instance, there have been concerns that escaped genetically modified fish could wreak environ- mental havoc if they es- cape. "In order to produce this gene[the genetic mod- ification that makes the salmon grow faster], what happens is you get all fe- males. And only 1.1 per- cent of those fish are capable of reproducing," says Claudia. While the FDA's draft risk assessment says that Aqua Bounty's methods have been 99.8 percent effective at induc- ing sterility, the assessment by Fisheries and Oceans Canada says that Aqua Bounty only ensured an ef- fectiveness of at least 95 per- cent. Claudia continues, "Let's just say the stars align and it lands in the right gravel bed and finds a male salmon. The chances of them reproducing are really ridiculously small." Claudia adds that part of the reason the genetically modified salmon grow so fast is because they have to eat all through the year, rather than hibernating as conven- tional salmon do. This, plus the fact that the modified fish have smaller fins than conventional varieties, suggests that any progeny of an escaped modified salmon would be unfit to live in the wild and pass along their genes. Claudia believes that increasing yields with genetic modification has the potential to help feed the world in a less expensive and more environmentally responsible way. In addition, she believes that in the future, organisms could be modified to be disease resistant, reducing the need for antibiotics. "If people were to understand the science, we could increase the welfare of the ani- mals." While she believes the potential benefits of genetically modified fish are high, she believes fisheries should focus on selective breeding methods first, as the lim- its of that kind of growth optimization have not been fully reached. While argument in the environmental and scientific communities continues, pub- lic opinion has already begun to turn the tide economically. In a 2013 New York Times poll, three-quarters of respondents said they would not eat genetically modi- fied fish. A Friends of the Earth petition urging retailers to publicly refuse to sell genetically modified salmon has been signed by some heavy hitters in grocery re- tail. "Customers have spoken, and we have seen companies such as Kroger and Costco stand up as leaders in seafood sustainabil- ity," says Perl. "Fish- ing communities around the world are also rejecting GMO salmon because of environmental risks and the economic im- pacts it could have." With such a strong public reaction, it is dif- ficult to see where AquAdvantage salmon's place would be in the US market. "We've had pretty much every grocery chain refuse to sell it; I struggle to see how anyone will sell it," adds Claudia. "I don't think we'll see a lot more GMO fish if the first one in the market is just flatly rejected." GN

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