Genetically Engineered Salmon Case Study

Genetically engineered salmon: Is it safe to eat?
Genetically modified salmon for human consumption has been a controversial issue from its very beginnings. AquaBounty Technologies, a small company founded in 1991, is considered one of the early pioneers in this industry. They believed that, by combining advanced genetics with the latest aquaculture production techniques, they could create an environmentally friendly and sustainable food supply of genetically engineered salmon (GE salmon). They called their product, AquAdvantage salmon, a hybrid Atlantic salmon that incorporates a gene from a Chinook salmon. This GE salmon can grow to full size in half the time of conventional salmon, and on less food. In two articles, “Legal, PR battles

Greensberg's solution is to further improve feed. “Shouldn’t improving feed be our first priority, not artificially improving salmon?”(Greenberg) However Greenberg’s argument to improve feed as a solution for improved farming is not based on sound evidence that feed improvements alone will significantly increase production. Greenberg begins his argument with “In the early days of salmon farming it could take as much as six pounds of wild fish to grow a single pound of salmon. But improvements in diet, husbandry, and selective breeding programs that don’t involve genetic engineering have lowered the feed conversion ratio on the most efficient farms below two-to-one” (Greenberg). In this statement, Greenberg indirectly admits that feed development is a mature concept and is close to reaching its maximum benefits. The gains of farm production using feed improvements is, at best, marginal and genetics offers farms the opportunity to significantly increase and improve production. In fact, the next great breakthrough in feed reduction is raising genetically modified fish. In Entine’s article, he references AquaBounty’s claims that they can reduce the feed requirements by another 20% with their genetically engineered salmon. Entine’s article further points out that genetically grown salmon is environmentally friendly, will reduce greenhouse gases, and will have an overall positive affect on the environment. So, to answer Greenberg's question, feed has been a top priority for a long time, and now has reached peak efficiency. Genetically modifying the fish will have less negative impact on the environment and will significantly reduce the amount of feed