{"id":38298,"date":"2022-08-01T08:18:56","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T08:18:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsgf.greenschoolsgreenfuture.org\/?p=38298"},"modified":"2022-08-21T15:18:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-21T15:18:13","slug":"gmo-salmon-pork-chicken-coming-to-your-dinner-plate-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsgf.greenschoolsgreenfuture.org\/fr\/gmo-salmon-pork-chicken-coming-to-your-dinner-plate-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"GMO Salmon, Pork, Chicken, Coming to Your Dinner Plate Soon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The health-conscious and safe food advocates are well aware of genetically modified organisms (GMO<\/a>) such as the corn that\u00a0Monsanto<\/a>\u00a0designed to withstand heavier exposures to its juggernaut herbicide Roundup.<\/p>\r\n

Less publicized, however, are\u00a0GMO food animals<\/a>. Judging from ongoing research, the companies making these creatures hope they will increasingly find their way onto Americans\u2019 plates in the years ahead.<\/p>\r\n

The\u00a0AquAdvantage salmon<\/a>\u00a0was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015, but other GMO animals are under development.<\/p>\r\n

The AquAdvantage salmon was created by\u00a0inserting the coding sequence<\/a>\u00a0from a Chinook salmon growth-hormone gene under the control of an \u201cantifreeze protein promoter and terminator\u201d from the eel-like ocean pout into wild Atlantic salmon.<\/p>\r\n

Designed to grow twice as fast as normal\u00a0salmon<\/a>, it was the first GMO animal approved by the FDA.<\/p>\r\n

According to a\u00a0food industry<\/a>\u00a0website, the Counter, the AquAdvantage salmon is sold in Canada, but more than 85 grocery chains, food service companies, restaurants and seafood companies have pledged to\u00a0boycott<\/a>\u00a0it for both food safety and environmental reasons.<\/p>\r\n

In addition to concerns about the product itself, the safety of\u00a0wild salmon<\/a>\u00a0populations is threatened by such GMO animals if they escape. (Think Jurassic Park.)<\/p>\r\n

While both the FDA and the AquAdvantage salmon\u2019s creator,\u00a0AquaBounty<\/a>, claim the GMO salmon is safe to eat, the\u00a0FDA briefing packet<\/a>\u00a0disseminated for 2010 hearings revealed such red flags as a higher incidence of \u201cjaw erosion\u201d and \u201cfocal inflammation\u201d (infection) seen in the AquAdvantage salmon; no way to determine if greater allergy risks existed because of the excessive culling of \u201cabnormal\u201d AAquAdvantage salmon; and a possible \u201cincrease in the level of IGF-1,\u201d insulin-like growth factor-1, in the AquAdvantage salmon.<\/p>\r\n

Moreover, FDA\u00a0food scientists<\/a>\u00a0and outside experts who had been called in for the hearings noted unexplained discrepancies, omitted data and overall substandard science presented by those promoting the AquAdvantage salmon.<\/p>\r\n

More FDA GMO approvals<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

In 2020, the\u00a0FDA approved<\/a>\u00a0the second GMO animal, an \u201cintentional genomic alteration\u201d in pigs. The lab-created animal, called a \u201cGalSafe\u201d pig, is designed to eliminate a substance found on the surface of pigs\u2019 cells called \u201calpha-gal sugar\u201d that could cause people with alpha-gal syndrome to have an allergic reaction.<\/p>\r\n

Alpha-gal syndrome sensitizes someone to allergic reactions to beef, pork and lamb usually after a tick bite. The GMO animal was created by removing the gene for alpha-1, 3-galactosyltransferase, which \u201cattaches alpha-galactose sugars to cell surfaces,\u201d\u00a0Medpage Today<\/a>\u00a0reported.<\/p>\r\n

GMO animals are already used in the laboratory. In the 1980s,\u00a0transgenic mice<\/a>\u00a0were created by inserting human genes and a sheep with human genes was created in 1997.<\/p>\r\n

GMO animals are also used in medical and non-food applications. In 2009, the FDA approved an anti-clotting drug made from goats that had the\u00a0human gene<\/a>\u00a0for antithrombin inserted and linked to their DNA.<\/p>\r\n

More livestock genetic engineering<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

In 2006, research published in the journal Nature Biotechnology describes the \u201cgeneration of cloned pigs<\/a>\u00a0that express a humanized Caenorhabditis elegans gene, fat-1, encoding an n-3 fatty acid desaturase,\u201d in order to produce pork with\u00a0more \u201cgood\u201d omega-3 fatty acids<\/a>\u00a0and less \u201cbad\u201d omega-6 fatty acids that are usually found in meat.<\/p>\r\n

In 2010, researchers created a GMO pig by adding\u00a0mouse and E. coli<\/a>\u00a0phytase genes to its DNA, and the creature was approved in Canada. Dubbed the \u201cEnviropig<\/a>,\u201d it was said to produce less phosphorus in its urine and feces and be less destructive to the environment but the pigs were killed in 2012 when funding ran out.<\/p>\r\n

In addition to creating animals that are more environmentally friendly or that have better nutritional profiles for human consumption, in 2007, United Kingdom scientists at the Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, announced that they had produced\u00a0genetically modified chickens<\/a>\u00a0to lay eggs that contain cancer-fighting drugs according to the BBC.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cSome of the birds have been engineered to lay eggs that contain miR24, a type of antibody with potential for treating malignant melanoma, a form of skin cancer. Others produce human interferon b-1a, which can be used to stop viruses replicating in cells,\u201d the news agency reported.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cOnce you\u2019ve made the transgenic birds, then it\u2019s very easy; once you\u2019ve got the gene in, then you can breed up hundreds of birds from one cockerel \u2014 because they can be bred with hundreds of hens and you can collect an egg a day and have hundreds of chicks in no time,\u201d said Dr. Helen Sang, lead scientist on the project.<\/p>\r\n

Overseas GMO animals<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

In 2011, scientists at the China Agricultural University introduced human genes into\u00a0dairy cows<\/a>\u00a0to produce milk closer in composition to that of humans. They hoped the milk from GMO cows would be sold in supermarkets and positioned it as an alternative to formula and human breast milk for babies.<\/p>\r\n

Soon after, scientists in Argentina also created a\u00a0cow with human genes<\/a>\u00a0to approximate human breast milk, and scientists from New Zealand added a mouse gene to a cow to produce\u00a0allergy-free milk<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

When the human\/cow GMO animals were announced, Helen Wallace, executive director of the\u00a0biotechnology monitoring<\/a>\u00a0group GeneWatch UK, told the\u00a0Telegraph<\/a>:<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWe have major concerns about this research to genetically modify cows with human genes.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThere are welfare issues with genetically modified animals as you get high numbers of stillbirths.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Wallace also questioned whether the milk could be harmful to some people with no large clinical trials having been conducted.<\/p>\r\n

Others question the morality of adding human characteristics to animals.<\/p>\r\n

More GMO animals likely to come before FDA<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

So far, the AquAdvantage salmon, the \u201cGalSafe\u201d pig and the GMO goat have been\u00a0FDA approved<\/a>, and genetic engineering of food animals looks set to ramp up as meat producers seek to maximize profits and modify animals to crowded growing conditions, consumer appetites and\u00a0marketing<\/a>\u00a0possibilities.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cGenome editing<\/a>\u00a0has been found to be a valuable tool for lightening the hair and coat color to better adapt dairy cattle to rapidly changing climatic conditions,\u201d Giuseppe Ambrosi, European Dairy Association president, told Dairy Global.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThese are the findings by researchers from the AgResearch Centre in New Zealand. High-producing Holstein Friesian dairy cattle have a characteristic black and white coat, often with large proportions of black. Compared to a light coat color, black absorbs more solar radiation.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Earlier this year, National Hog Farmer wrote that genetic engineering \u201chas the potential to transform how we\u00a0improve livestock with genetics<\/a>\u00a0\u2026 increasing agricultural productivity (more food for more people in our community and elsewhere).\u201d<\/p>\r\n

While the article hints that genetic engineering could cut down on antibiotic usage, many operations are\u00a0already using vaccines<\/a>\u00a0to that end.<\/p>\r\n

GMO dairy cattle have been developed to grow without horns by taking DNA from the genome of Red Angus cattle, which suppresses horn growth, and inserting it into the cells of a Holstein bull.<\/p>\r\n

Pigs resistant<\/a>\u00a0to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome have been genetically engineered and researchers have been trying to\u00a0genetically engineer cows<\/a>\u00a0that are immune to the terminal, prion-caused disease known as \u201cmad cow\u201d after the worldwide outbreaks in the early 2000s.<\/p>\r\n

While stopping disease is a worthy goal, many animal diseases \u2014 like the current avian influenza epidemic \u2014 are caused or worsened by crowding and unsanitary conditions.<\/p>\r\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

The development of genetically engineered food animals will likely increase because the GMOs represent greater profits for\u00a0big meat producers<\/a>\u00a0when they adjust animals to their bottom line rather than their practices to better suit animal welfare and human safety.<\/p>\r\n

However, like\u00a0GMO crops<\/a>, many environmental and food groups distrust the products (sometimes called \u201cFrankenfoods\u201d) and raise legitimate\u00a0questions about their safety<\/a>, purpose and who is driving the aggressive GMO agenda.<\/p>\r\n

Moreover, the objections to GMO crops \u2014 tampering with nature for human advantage \u2014 are magnified when it comes to animals.<\/p>\r\n

Creating new animals for dedicated human use \u201cis a mechanistic use of animals that seems to perpetuate the notion of their being merely tools for human use rather than sentient creatures,\u201d the\u00a0Humane Society<\/a>\u00a0of the United States says. That may be an understatement.<\/p>\r\n

Originally published by\u00a0The Epoch Times<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily reflect the views of Green Schools Green Future but felt important enough to publish it.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

Martha Rosenberg is a nationally recognized medical reporter. Her work appears in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Consumer Reports, Public Citizen, Center for Health Journalism at USC Annenberg, Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University and other top outlets.<\/p>\r\n

Blog Image Credit: Karyna Panchenko from unsplash.com<\/p>\r\n

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