Whole Living Daily

Now I’m not sure about you, but these headlines about our food supply are getting pretty tough to stomach.  From egg recalls large enough to feed every American two scrambled eggs to meat recalls warning us about e. Coli in our hamburgers, I can’t help but yearn for simpler times.

But the latest food headline sounds like it’s out of a sci-fi movie: “Genetically Modified Salmon Safe to Eat, FDA Report Says”.  A fish designed to eat year round. And it comes with an "on switch."

Could things get any stranger?

What Happened Back Then:
If you’re anything like me, you may not have been aware that about fifteen years ago a new technology was introduced into our food supply called “genetic engineering,” since it hasn’t gotten a whole lot of attention in the U.S. media.  But from corn to milk to fish, the United States started manipulating the DNA of our food using all kinds of wild sounding tools and technology beginning in the mid 1990s in an effort to drive profitability for agricultural companies.

Using instruments like “gene guns”, scientists began to manipulate the DNA of our food supply and insert things like new proteins and insecticides into the genetic makeup of about 90% of our soybeans, 60% of our corn and even some of the animals that we eat.

No long term studies were conducted as to what the implications might be of eating this "technofood" with manipulated DNA, so most developed countries (like all of Europe, Australia, the UK, Japan and others) exercised extreme precaution and either did not allow these biotech ingredients into their food supplies or insisted on labeling them so that consumers could make an informed choice when it comes to feeding their families.

But here in the U.S., we took a different approach: We simply assumed that these foods were safe and didn't label them.

What's Happening Today:
And now 15 years later, no long term studies yet conducted, and with the jury still out (especially on the role that these foods and their novel proteins and allergens play in the epidemic increase in food allergic reactions), the U.S. is about to introduce the first genetically manipulated animal into the food supply: salmon.  A salmon designed to double its weight in record time.

With the insertion of an “on switch” gene into the DNA of salmon, scientists have manipulated and patented the genetic makeup of salmon and engineered it to eat year round so that it can grow twice as fast.  As a result, salmon producers will be able to grow salmon more quickly, driving profitability and capitalizing on the growing demand for fish.

But in the midst of an obesity epidemic, what will eating this salmon with an insatiable appetite do to our widening waist lines?  The answer is, we simply don’t know.

Time will tell, right?
Genetically manipulated foods have been on the market in the United States for the last 15 years, according to the United States Department of Agriculture, but no long term studies have ever been conducted to see what their health impact might be, and unlike other developed countries, no labels were ever put on these products to alert American eaters of these new ingredients in their food supply.

Now I’m all for fish, as it is full of Omega-3s that contain anti-inflammatory benefits as well as an ability to affect insulin sensitivity, making it an important part of a well-balanced diet.  But given that the United States Department of Agriculture currently has no organic guidelines in place for seafood and the jury is still out on what the long term impact might be on our country’s ever expanding waistlines and increasingly allergic children of eating genetically manipulated salmon that contains an “on switch” triggering an insatiable appetite, I am going to sit this experiment out and not only get to know the details about the salmon that my family eats and how it is grown, but also opt for fish like tilapia, cod and halibut whose DNA haven’t yet been manipulated to eat year round.

Robyn O'Brien has been called "food's Erin Brokovich" by the New York Times, an "Inspiring Woman to Follow on Twitter" by Forbes Magazine, and a visionary by Discovery Channel. She is married with four children, the founder of the AllergyKids Foundation, serves on the board of the Environmental Working Group, and is the author of The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It.