In response to the possible approval of a genetically modified salmon, an environmental group and a seafood company are asking that the GM salmon be specifically labeled. Marine Harvest, a seafood company and leading producer of farmed salmon, and the World Wildlife Foundation in Norway are worried about the environmental impacts of the GM salmon if it were to escape into the wild. Marine Harvest is specifically worried that without a label, consumers would have no idea if they were eating GM salmon. “If the GM salmon is to be approved for consumption, Marine Harvest asks for it to be specifically labeled,” says Kristine Gramstad, global director of communications at Marine Harvest.
The GM salmon, created by US-based biotech company AquaBounty, contains a gene from the Chinook salmon that allows it to grow twice as large as conventionally bred salmon. The hatchery in Canada has already been approved by Canadian environmental agencies to begin producing the GM salmon, but the salmon cannot be released commercially unless the US Food and Drug Administration approves it.
Environmental groups are concerned that if the GM salmon were to escape into the wild, there would be devastating consequences on the local environment, but AquaBounty and Canadian officials stress that the correct safety measures are in place.
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