Sat, 17 Jan 2009

FDA issues final guidelines for genetically engineered animals

The money quote:

"We want the public to understand that food from GE animals will not enter the food supply unless FDA has determined that it is safe," she [Bernadette Dunham] said.

Like Thalidomide? Like Vioxx?

But forget the potential human health consequences - what about the potential for these genetic modifications to get loose into livestock populations and wreck havoc? Breeding for specific traits is one thing - altering the genetic structure of an organism is quite another. Intensive breeding programs have already caused severe problems for some species - and those problems will only be magnified when modifications are made in the lab.

Maybe Obama will change this, maybe not. We'll see. My biggest fear is that if he doesn't, Mother Nature will. And that will be a far sterner lesson than a mere US President can provide.

The Food and Drug Administration announced formal guidelines Thursday that will regulate the production of genetically engineered (GE) animals.

(link) [CNN]

/Agriculture | 1 writeback | permanent link

On 1/19/2009 22:09:36
Karl Donaldsson wrote

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