AquAdvantage salmon… what is that?

Genetically engineered (GE) Atlantic salmon is coming up in discussion in the US due to the Agriculture Department developing a national mandatory standard for disclosing bioengineered material in food by July 2018, AquAdvantage might be on plates in the US very soon!! This might be old news but it still gets anti-GMO people talking. 

What is AquAdvantage salmon? This super salmon grows twice as quickly, no vaccines, nothing. It has not been without controversy, in November 2015 it was approved by the FDA in the US which was sued due to release ‘without considering or fully disclosing the environmental and other risks of this unprecedented decision’ and product labelling rules leading to GE salmon not being available for consumption in the US. This didn’t stop Canada being the first to eat GE fish; approved in May 2016, over 5 tonnes of GE salmon was consumed in 2017.

How does this whole thing work? Transgenics. What is transgenics? It is basically the modification of genes.

Transgenic lifestock is not known for success in market, however transgenic food crops such as golden rice and goats milk containing FDA have been very successful and helpful worldwide, building the baby steps we need for GMO’s to continue to be develop and accepted such as this rapid growing salmon.

The Atlantic salmon is modified with a growth hormone gene from the Chinook salmon and a regulatory switch from ocean pout, enabling the fish to produce growth hormone 24/7 unlike in the wild when its only produced when the conditions are right for rapid growth. This reduces the carbon footprint of aquaculture as it takes half to produce and requires 75% of feed. With the company AquaBounty only producing sterile females, the possibility of escaping salmon mixing in the wild is a concern as processes aren’t 100% successful.

 

This is old news but crazy for the seafood industry particularly AquaBounty the company behind this. This is great discussion for people however this is not the first GE engineered animal. Politics and public fears have kept animals that have been developed, bred and tested off our plates. I personally do not believe that is correct as GE animals are beneficial to combatting problems in agriculture, but AquAdvantage salmon gives hope that public perception might change allowing biotechnology to play a larger role in our food system and giving lifestock such as Enviropig a place on our plates in the future.

AquaBounty- https://aquabounty.com/our-salmon/

Article ‘Genetically modified salmon producer AquaBounty advances to product commercialization’ - https://www.seafoodsource.com/features/genetically-modified-salmon-producer-aquabounty-advances-to-product-commercialization