Despite the brouhaha over the potential health and environmental risks of genetically engineered crops, several biotech companies are moving forward with plans to bring genetically modified fish and meat to your nearest supermarket. Aqua Bounty Farms has already applied to the feds for approval to market salmon eggs laced with DNA from ocean pout that allows the salmon to grow to full size in half the time. Enviros fear that these dreamy salmon could turn into an ecological nightmare if they escape from their pens and breed with wild Atlantic salmon. Perhaps even scarier, the power to regulate the genetically engineered fish currently rests with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, rather than with the government’s environmental agencies like the U.S EPA or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Rebecca Goldburg, a senior scientist at Environmental Defense, says, “Having the FDA assess environmental risks would be like having the Fish and Wildlife Service assessing food safety.”
