So long, and thanks for all the fish
By Louisa Chu
So long, and thanks for all the fish
By Louisa Chu
Batavia-based ALDI, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods have pledged not to sell so-called Frankenfish in response to a campaign by 30 consumer and environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth.
Remember when I said Frankenfish is the new pink slime?
As a reminder, “AquAdvantage® Salmon (AAS) [unfortunately acronymed IMHO] include a gene from the Chinook salmon, which provides the fish with the potential to grow to market size in half the time of conventional salmon.” The FDA says it’s safe, but critcs fear a Jurassic Park-esque scenario if the genetically engineered farmed salmon ever escape into the wild. [BTW did you know Jurassic Park 3D hits theaters April 5?]
At issue are not only the fish, but that they would not require labelling as genetically engineered.
AquaBounty Technologies, the biotechnology company developing AAS, is also working on genetically engineered trout and tilapia. You may remember in the recent fish fraud reports that tilapia is the most common substitute for snapper.
If you’d like to let the FDA know what you think, you’re in luck: the comment period has been extended until April 26. Click here to “Comment Now!” You might be asking yourself, “Do my comments make a difference?” Why, that happens to be an FAQ. The answer: “Yes.”