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GE salmon focus of Senate hearing |
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A recent Senate hearing placed a spotlight on the regulatory tangle
surrounding the approval process for genetically-engineered salmon.
Potentially the country’s first GE animal for human consumption, the
salmon have raised a host of worries among critics including the impact
on the environment should they escape fish farms.
However, what came to the fore during the mid-December hearing was the complicated morass of government approval, oversight, and trade when dealing with the GE fish. Other GE animals are surely being developed and the current approval process outlined during the hearing seems ill-equipped to deal with the new technology. Years ago, Massachusetts-based AquaBounty, submitted an application for its GE salmon to the FDA. In late 2010, preliminary analysis by the FDA – charged with regulating GE animals as “new animal drugs” -- said the fish were safe for consumption were unlikely to harm the environment. That was hardly the last word as the approval process has since moved through a handful of other federal agencies. Questions to the expert panel from the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard mostly came from the chairman, Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, and Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe. Both have large salmon industries in their states and Begich has introduced S.1717, which would ban interstate commerce of genetically engineered salmon. Read the complete story from The Southwest Farm Press
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HASTINGS: Time to improve the Endangered Species Act
May 18, 2012 - When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law in 1973 by President Nixon, he spoke about the importance of preserving “the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” I believe that goal is as important today as it was back then. However, after nearly 40 years, it’s time to take a fresh, honest look at the law and consider whether there are ways it could be improved to do a better job of protecting and recovering species.