Major US supermarkets to boycott GM salmon

Major US supermarkets to boycott GM salmon



• Aldi and Whole Foods among retailers refusing to sell product
• FDA decision due on whether GM salmon allowed onto market











Two salmon of the same
age – at the rear a GM variety created by AquaBounty Technology, and a
non-GM salmon in front. Photograph: Anonymous/AP




A number of US supermarket chains pledged on Wednesday not to
sell genetically modified salmon, in a sign of growing public concern
about engineered foods on the dinner table.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in the final stages of deciding whether to allow GM salmon on to the market. If approved, AquaBounty Technology's salmon would be the first genetically engineered animal to enter the food supply.
The company combined genes from two species of salmon with a pouter eel to produce a fish it says it can bring to market twice as fast as conventional salmon.
The GM
salmon is the first in some 30 other species of genetically engineered
fish under development, including tilapia. Researchers are also working
to bring GM cows, chickens and pigs to market.
However, those
plans could be blocked by Wednesday's commitment not to sell genetically
engineered seafood from national grocery chainsincluding Trader Joe's, Aldi and Whole Foods, as well as regional retailers.
Between them, the chains control about 2,000 outlets – a fraction of supermarkets
across the country. But campaigners said they represent a growing
segment of the population that is concerned about GM food, and willing
to pay higher prices for healthier foods.
Eric Hoffman, a
campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said in a statement: "Now it's time
for other food retailers, including Walmart, Costco and Safeway, to
follow suit and let their customers know they will not be selling
unlabelled, poorly studied genetically engineered seafood."
Trudy
Bialic from PCC Natural Markets, a chain of health food stores in
Washington state, said: "We won't sell genetically engineered fish
because we don't believe it is sustainable or healthy."
There was
no immediate response from AquaBounty, a struggling biotechnology firm
which has spent nearly 20 years trying to bring the fish to market. The
company has hit a number of financial crisis points over the past few
years, relying on research grants and investors to stay in operation.
Last year the company turned to a former Soviet oligarch, Georgian billionaire and former economics minister Kakha Bendukidze, for a bailout.
As
the FDA review process enters its final stages, campaign groups have
are pushing retailers not to stock the product and tapping into growing
awareness in America about GM foods.
Voters in California and other states have been pushing for labels on GM foods. Meanwhile, the Whole Foods chain announced earlier this month it would begin labelling foods containing GM corn and soybean by 2018.
Critics
of GM salmon say the FDA has not conducted proper oversight of the
fish, which are raised from eggs hatched in a facility in Prince Edward
Island, Canada, and grown to maturity in tanks in a remote area of
Panama, to ensure they can not escape into the wild.
They say
there is insufficient data to back up AquaBounty's claims its salmon can
grow to maturity twice as fast as wild salmon. They also dispute the
company's claims that there is no increased risk to people with
allergies.
Those concerns were amplified by the FDA's preliminary finding that there was no need to label GM salmon.
Patty Lovera of the campaign group Food and Water Watch
said it was not clear what effect the supermarkets' move would have on
the FDA's decision, which is supposed to be focused on science.
But
she said she hoped the growing public opposition to GM salmon – even
before its approval – would push retailers to think twice about stocking
the fish or more than 30 other varieties of GM seafood currently under
development.
"It reinforces that there is no demand or no need for
this product, so why does the FDA need to approve it?" she said. "If
this many stores are willing to say 'no' ahead of time, I think that is a
pretty strong signal that there is not a lot of demand."


Source:-
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/mar/20/major-us-supermarkets-boycott-gm-salmon