AquAdvantage Salmon Should be Promoted
The market of genetically modified foods started in 1994, when Calgene developed its unsuccessful delayed-ripening tomato (Winerip). Since then, GMO food becomes an important element of today’s food industry. However, it was not until 2015 that the United States Food and Drug Administration( FDA) approved Aquadvantage salmon, which was developed by the AquaBounty Technologies, to be consumed by human and appears on market (“Briefing Packet”). It is the first type of genetically modified animal that approved by FDA. This salmon innovation will be revolutionary to the whole human society. Since GMO salmon will contribute both environmentally and economically, the approval of Aquadvantage salmon is definitely beneficial to human society and meaningful.
AquAdvantage salmon is a triploid Atlantic salmon, which means it has three sets of chromosomes whereas most animals have two sets (“Briefing Packet”). This salmon contains a growth hormone gene from the fast growing Pacific Chinook salmon and a promoter sequence, which is a fragment of DNA, from the ocean pout. Combining the gene and promoter sequence, which acts like an “on” switch, enables the salmon to grow year-round instead of seasonally like wild salmon. Besides, AquAdvantage salmon grows to market size in half the time as wild Atlantic salmon, which is about 16 to 18 months compared 32 to 36 months for conventional salmon (“9 things”). Because of the unusual gene composition of GMO salmon, its swimming ability is weaker compared to conventional salmon which makes the GMO salmon have more meat for us to eat (Dvorsky).
Since AquAdvantage salmon grows year-round and twice as faster as conventional salmon, promoting AquAdvantage salmon will help to relieve the consuming pressure from the market. Salmon is one of the most popular fish available in the seafood market. In 2016, salmon was the second most consumed seafood in the United States (Fowler). Because salmon is so popular and the human demands for salmon is increasing from time to time, the wild salmon population has significantly decreased since 1990s (“9 Things”). According to the data shown by the World Resources Institute, the seafood consumption will nearly be doubled by the year 2050, which means the farmed fish production will need to increase by 133 percent by 2050 in order to meet the fish demand (Zelin). Therefore, GMO salmon will be a great alternative to conventional salmon. Consuming the GMO salmon will give a breath for the conventional wild salmon to recover its population. Thus, GMO salmon is important because it protects the ecosystem.
Furthermore, AquAdvantage salmon will help to reduce the cost by eliminating transportation demands and more environmentally friendly to fishing industry. When the factories are close to major metropolitan areas, AquAdvantage Salmon will only need to travel a short distance to the consumer (“Sustainable”). It not only makes the salmon meat more fresh w...
