Fw: enfish on your plate?

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tell them NO enfish to threaten our wild Salmon, the source of life itself to many!From: Hoffman, Friends of the Earth <foe@...>Subject: enfish on your plate?epifany97523@...Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2010, 8:34 AM

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Dear Michele,

Take action today!

Join us in asking the FDA to keep our food supply free of frankenfish.

Are you ready for genetically engineered salmon on your dinner plate?

For the first time, federal regulators are considering approving a genetically engineered fish -- a modified salmon -- for human consumption. This is bad news. The modified salmon, colloquially known as frankenfish, threatens human health as well as the survival of its natural counterpart.

Tell the FDA to say no to frankenfish. Submit a formal public comment today.

The frankenfish, manufactured by a corporation called AquaBounty, is engineered to grow twice as quickly as natural salmon -- and that's cause for concern. If the frankenfish escapes from aquaculture farms where it is raised and enters the open ocean, it could outcompete natural species. Of particular concern is the survival of natural Atlantic salmon, which are already listed as endangered. Indeed, research published by the prestigious National Academy of Sciences indicates that a release of just 60 of the genetically engineered salmon into the wild could lead to the extinction of a natural population of 60,000 salmon in less than 40 fish generations.

Human health is threatened too. One consequence of government approval of the frankenfish would likely be the use of even more antibiotics in aquaculture, increasing the risks of drug-resistant bacteria and viruses. Farmed salmon are given more antibiotics than any other livestock by weight, and scientists have warned that the frankenfish could require even more antibiotics, as its unique properties would make it even more susceptible to disease.

Scientists have also raised concerns about how physical properties of genetically engineered animals could make them unsafe to eat, but neither AquaBounty nor the federal Food and Drug Administration have made the frankenfish available to independent experts for safety testing. It would be irresponsible for the FDA to say these fish are safe to eat without such testing.

Submit a comment to the FDA today urging it to reject AquaBounty's application.

Fortunately, while the FDA is moving forward with its approval process, a decision has not yet been made. We can still keep the frankenfish out of the food supply. An FDA committee will hold hearings starting September 19, and has asked for members of the public to submit written comments by September 16 to help inform the committee's recommendations.

Please participate in this process. Democratic government only works when citizens are actively engaged.

Hoffman

Biotechnology Policy Campaigner

Friends of the Earth

http://action.foe.org/frankenfish

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