First, grill robo-salmon's producers -- and the FDA Published:
Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 6:23 PM On first blush, this looks
promising. Instead of taking three years to mature, this
Atlantic salmon would be full-size and ready for the grill in
roughly 18 months. It is said to be nutritionally identical to
nonengineered Atlantic salmon, almost all of it farmed in ocean
pens. People around the world presumably would have wider access
to salmon, valued for its nutrient profile. But the proposal is
an ethical game-changer. If it goes forward, this fish would
become the first genetically modified animal approved for human
consumption. What-ifs run everywhere. For starters, the FDA
would be opening the gate to fundamental alteration of other
animals for human consumption -- maybe a good thing, maybe bad.
But it goes beyond husbandry or naturally occurring gene
mutation. Pigs are undergoing genetic experimentation to produce
lower-phosphorous excrement, a plus for the environment. But can
-- or should -- we produce p