Would you eat genetically engineered fish?

[8 Bit WWBG]

I thought there already was an issue with the super-salmon escaping and killing off the natural salmon because they grow like the clone army and are consuming more of the food.

I agree on approaching with caution.  Hopefully this is one step closer to replicators, and being able to create a perfect slab of beef from pure energy.

[tskeeter]

Apr 3, 2014 18:59:32 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

Apr 3, 2014 17:12:49 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

I think we need to approach GMO's a little cautiously.  But, much of what we already consume is some kind of a GMO organism.  And some of them can be beneficial, despite the reservations we might have about GMO's.

Ever eat anything but a wild chicken or turkey?  GMO, bred specifically for more breast meat and faster growth.  A turkey used to be a big deal.  Now it's on almost every Thanskgiving table.  I'm thinkin that means an increase in the turkey portion of the food supply.

Ever eat anything made with corn?  Chances are it was GMO corn.  Dad talks about corn crops back in the 30's and 40's being 40 bushels an acres, in a very good year.  Today, a poor year in many parts of the corn belt is 150 bushels an acre and yields in the range of 170 - 180 bushels an acre aren't unheard of.  Thanks to GMO corn, fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, a 400% increase in the portion of the food supply provided by corn.

If you're completely opposed to better living thorugh chemistry, you might consider giving up all of your prescriptions and never take one in the future.  After all, we have a lot more evidence that bad prescriptions cause serious problems than we do that GMO food is a problem.

Really, my biggest concern about GMO food products is that they tend to reduce the natural bio-diversity of our food supply.  Massive amounts of cheap food that is only a couple of strains.  Think about what would happen if we had something similar to a potato famine that attacked our only strain of corn, rice, beef, pork, etc. in a short period of time.  In fact, it's happening right now.  Have you checked pork prices lately?  I've seen the cost of some pork products increase 30% in the last week.  Why?  A swine virus is killing more than 75% of baby pigs before they are a few weeks old.  Might want to think about stocking up on bacon before it's $20 a pound.    

Just to be clear - there is a HUGE difference between hybridizing (mixing the genes of different strains of the same organism or of similar organisms) and genetic modification (removing a gene or gene sequence and replacing with genetic material from something totally foreign/not related to the organism).

Crossing tomatoes, corn, birds, people, horses with donkeys, lions with tigers: hybrid. Many times a natural occurence (crops that cross as a result of wind drift is a perfect example). Can also be man-made (as in - AI or other types of animal cross-breeding in captive situations).

Removing DNA from corn and inserting a lab-developed synthetic gene to make the corn more readily accept Monsanto's synthetic pesticide Round Up: GMO. This is a whole 'nuther animal (so to speak).

I share with others some pretty huge concerns about this. All the folks who are telling us this is perfectly okay and harmless are lying - truth is, current reliable (uninvolved, third-party) science is saying that the consequences and outcomes at this point are unknown. The folks that are saying it's okay are the paid shills of the people who stand to gain financially from GMOs.

But as always - YMMV.

OK, so I get that there is a technical distinction between hybridizing and genetic modification.  Is there a functional difference?  Does re-sequencing of natural genetic material automatically mean that nothing bad can happen?  You can't make something that has long term adverse consequences for people?  You can't make a super material that crowds out other strains of that material?

If the outcome can be the same, does it really matter what path is followed to get to the outcome?  I guess it's kind of like asking do you want to be poisoned with a naturally occurring compound, or would you prefer a synthetic.  If it's gona kill me, natural or synthetic won't matter.

[Deleted]

Apr 3, 2014 17:58:30 GMT -5 tskeeter said:

Apr 3, 2014 17:45:01 GMT -5 @joey said:

I try not to eat GMO's.

I have a friend who worked on a fish farm off the coast here, she told me not to ever eat farmed salmon.   had a few stories about the entire operation.

Truth is, to most folks who didn't grow up on farms, the realities of raising livestock of any kind are gretty gross.  But, if you guys all become vegans, that'll leave more tasty animals for me! 

Oh no, its not that at all. I am very aware of what happens on farms and I am not removed from my food sources. My freezer is full of moose, deer and salmon all free range  I admit.

What is disgusting about the salmon fish farms is this:
Open net-cage salmon farming is currently one of the most harmful aquaculture production systems and poses environmental threats in all regions it is practiced.

The Environmental Impacts of Salmon Farming

Sea Lice
Chemical Treatments: SLICE
Disease
Algae Blooms
Marine Mammal Deaths
Marine Debris
Waste on the Ocean Floor
Escapes & Alien Species
Fish Feed
The Human Health Impacts of Salmon Farming

PCBs & Contaminants
Excessive Antibiotic Use & Resistance
Healthy Fats From Healthy Oceans
Chemical Dependence
Organic Farmed Salmon?
The Economic Impacts of Salmon Farming

Value of Wild Fish Marine Industries
The Jobs Myth
Skeena Salmon: Risking a $110 Million Dollar Industry
The Impacts on BC First Nations Communities from Salmon Farming

Contamination Threats to Food Fishery

[tloonya]

Apr 3, 2014 19:43:09 GMT -5 NoNamePerson said:

I only eat fish my son catches. And yes, the waters off Kodiak are probably tainted but I haven't started glowing yet      I don't buy fish/shrimp from grocery store.

Google feeding tilapia pig feces.  

Yeah...and Chinese shrimps are growing up in sewers ...that's why when you eat fresh caught shrimp it taste like...sea.
And I didn't know I forgot that taste when I had splurged on $34 (2lb) shrimps on sale for $19.99.
My husband was like 'it taste funny' and I said 'you know what, we forgot the taste of a real seafood'...thanks to feces fed fish and sewer grown shrimps.