This morning, I had woken up earlier than usual and turned on the television to watch one of those morning talk shows. The talk show I was viewing mentioned that the FDA had approved genetically modified salmon. I decided to look into it further and visited the FDA site online. It was stated that “FDA has approved a new animal drug application concerning AquAdvantage Salmon, a genetically engineered Atlantic salmon.” I also viewed an article in The New York Times to find out more information about it. The article can be viewed here. Andrew Pollack stated that “The officials said the fish would not have to be labeled as being genetically engineered, a policy consistent with its stance on foods made from genetically engineered crops.” Basically, this means that there would be no way of knowing whether you are buying salmon that has grown normally or salmon that has been modified to grow 2x as fast.

I disagree with this whole situation. In my opinion, fish and meat should not be modified. I feel that letting it grow on its own would be much healthier to consume rather than having it grow quicker by altering DNA. There isn’t a good enough excuse for altering DNA and I personally do not feel comfortable eating salmon that is altered in order for it to grow faster. However, a way to make this situation more efficient would be to label whether the item is considered to be a GMO or if it’s GMO-free. Some people could agree with me and choose not to eat genetically modified salmon. Why should I eat a certain food like salmon without knowing whether it was altered or not?