Environmental, consumer, and commercial groups have sued the Food and Drug Administration, challenging the government agency’s authority to approve genetically-modified salmon.
The plaintiff’s coalition of twelve groups is being jointly represented by legal counsel from Center for Food Safety and Earthjustice.
In a release last week, the Center stated:
“The lawsuit challenges FDA’s claim that it has authority to approve and regulate GE animals as ‘animal drugs’ under the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Those provisions were meant to ensure the safety of veterinary drugs administered to treat disease in livestock and were not intended to address entirely new GE animals that can pass along their altered genes to the next generation.”
The lawsuit also says the agency has not fulfilled its obligation of consulting wildlife agencies during the review process in order to protect the environment.
While genetically engineered crops have been produced in the U.S. since the 1990’s, the FDA’s approval of genetically engineered salmon is the first genetically modified animal approved for human consumption.
Alaska’s senior U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski has voiced her opposition to the salmon being produced by AquAdvantage and is continuing to fight to make sure that any salmon in markets is labeled as GE.
Sen. Murkowski (R-Alaska): “This is a new species that will be introduced into our markets, into our homes, and quite possibly, contrary to what any environmental analysis claims, enters into our ecosystem.”
The FDA says they do not comment on pending litigation.
AquaAdvantage claims that by using the DNA of Atlantic Chinook Salmon spliced with an eel-like species to speed-up the growth process is a safe and more sustainable way for salmon to be eaten.
The process decreases the salmon’s growth cycle from three years to 16 to 18 months.
The plaintiff groups involved in the case include: Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Institute for Fisheries Resources, Golden Gate Salmon Association, Kennebec Reborn, Friends of Merrymeeting Bay, Ecology Action Centre, Food & Water Watch, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth and Cascadia Wildlands.