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Approval of Genetically-Engineered Salmon Appears Imminent, Tell the FDA “No”

For several years, the FDA has been considering whether to approve genetically-engineered salmon and it just released (right before a major holiday) an Environmental Assessment as to whether it is safe or not.

(If you are not familiar with this whole genetically-engineered salmon issue, please see the video at the bottom of this post which gives a great explanation.)

Continuing the Obama administration’s pandering to the biotech industry, the Environmental Assessment (EA) said GE-salmon is safe and poses no real risks, and this report paves the way for approval in 2013.

Needless to say, this is horrible news.

The public backlash against this “FrankenFish” has been very clear, yet it has fallen on completely deaf ears.

– Over 400,000 comments were submitted demanding that this GE-salmon be rejected.

– More than 300 environmental, consumer, health and animal welfare organizations, salmon and fishing groups and associations, food companies, chefs, and restaurants filed joint statements with FDA opposing approval.

– More than 40 members of the U.S. Congress have repeatedly urged the FDA to conduct more rigorous reviews of environmental and health safety, and halt any approval process until concerns over risks, transparency and oversight have been fully satisfied.

TREMENDOUS RISKS REMAIN

There are huge risks that come with approving genetically-engineered salmon.

1) It can and will ruin the ocean’s natural ecosystem forever.

Once a genetically-engineered salmon escapes into the ocean, which always happens with farmed fish, there will be absolutely no turning back. The ramifications for native salmon stock, already suffering from a serious decline, are dreadful.

Somehow the concerns regarding impacts to wild species and the environment, raised during a Senate hearing last year, remain unanswered in the latest FDA review documents.

2) This GE-fish is sick.

AquaBounty, the owner of this genetically-engineered fish, claims that the company’s process for raising GE-fish is safer than traditional aquaculture.

Yet, documents released by the Canadian government show that a new strain of Infectious Salmon Anaemia, the deadly fish flu which has been devastating fish stocks around the world, contaminated the AquaBounty’s Canadian production site.

Not surprisingly, this information wasn’t included in the FDA’s review and was hidden from the public.

3) The health risks for human beings eating genetically-salmon remain unknown.

What we do know is that the risks for eating GM-plants are huge.

4) Approval of GE-salmon will make it that much easier for GE-steak, GE-lamb, GE-pork, and other genetically-engineered foods and cloned animals to make their way onto our dinner plates.

It is a very, very dangerous precedent.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Even though this EA does indicate that approval is imminent, we still have a chance to block this completely unnecessary piece of food technology. BUT ONLY IF THEY HEAR FROM A LOT OF US.

Please let the FDA know how you feel by signing this electronic petition. You can do so by clicking HERE.

Also, please share this post with your network, so we can have as big of an opposition as possible.

Thank you so much for caring and for taking action.

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