FDA Signs Off On Genetically Modified Salmon Without Labeling (consumerist.com)

kheldan writes: Today, in a historic decision, the FDA approved the marketing of genetically-engineered salmon for sale to the general public, without any sort of labeling to indicate to consumers they've been genetically altered. According to the article: "Though the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) gives the FDA the authority to require mandatory labeling of foods if there is a material difference between a GE product and its conventional counterpart, the agency says it is not requiring labeling of these GE fish 'Because the data and information evaluated show that AquAdvantage Salmon is not materially different from other Atlantic salmon.' In this case, the GE salmon use an rDNA construct composed of the growth hormone gene from Chinook salmon under the control of a promoter from another type of fish called an 'ocean pout.' According to the FDA, this tweak to the DNA allows the salmon to grow to market size faster than non-GE farm-raised salmon."

Comments

Re:GM producers are shooting themselves in the foo

[mjm1231]

A similar thing has already happened with things like gluten free. 90% of the people buying gluten free products have ZERO issues digesting gluten. They had one bad reaction to a product and some ill-informed superstitious fool told them it was gluten related. So now they avoid gluten. Yes, there are a few people with gluten issues If you don't have celiac disease or at least sensitivity to gluten, gluten is not only fine, it's probably good for you. It's a whole grain and most people don't get enough of that.

Was with you up until the last sentence. I've still never heard a reason for gluten free being popular among non-celiac sufferers, so for now I'm assuming it's wilful ignorance. However...

Gluten is the combination of two proteins which naturally occur in wheat and to a lesser extent a few other grains (rye, um, can't think of another one actually...) But there's just as much gluten available in highly refined bleached white flour as there is in whole grains. The parts that are removed to make whole grain flour into white flour contain no gluten at all. Oh, and since gluten is the majority of the protein in wheat, removing it leaves you with something which is almost pure carbs. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing depends on which way the trend winds are blowing, I guess.

Re:GM producers are shooting themselves in the foo

[PopeRatzo]

And I've seen absolutely nothing that makes the case that information should be hidden from consumers. You know consumers, right? They're the ones who pay all the bills for GMOs and GMO research.