Genetically Altered Meats Coming to a Menu Near You?

Well, Washington shows that scientists are at it again, striving to get genetically altered meat out onto the market in an effort to sidestep disease, increase production, and even produce healthier animals. The Associate Press shows that the government has begun to consider genetic engineering of both food and drugs, outlining rules and regulations stipulating the haves and have nots of the medical trial.

Presently, U.S. supermarkets sell no genetically engineered meats, but for many it has become a prevalent discussion. Vice Chairman, Elliot Entis sampled genetically altered salmon from a Boston-area company called Aqua Bounty Technologies. He gave a thumbs up and said, "it tastes just like any other farm-raised salmon." Aqua Bounty Technologies will try to have the fish out on the market by 2011.

Some consumers are a bit queasy about this idea though. Especially since the FDA does not plan to label all genetically altered meat. They have chosen specific poultry, fish, and meats to wear the "genetically engineered" tag, but if they have it their way, many things will go unnoticed. Right now, I think they are looking at the money, because as soon as they label meats genetically engineered, their chances of profit immediately fall. This is causing an uproar among consumers, especially with the experiments that are being done on foods.

Jean Halbran, director of Food Policy for Consumers Union, was shocked at FDA's behavior, saying "people are talking about pigs that are going to have mouse genes transplanted in them, and this isn't going to be labeled?" Why are we willing to treat society like lab rats in an attempt to gain research?

The Associated Press shows that not everyone is hell-bent against the idea. Gregory Jaffe heads the biotechnology project at The Center for Science in the Public Interest and he felt FDA's decision to be a "good first step." Jaffe said it was the first time that the federal government had expressed concerns for these animals. Sure, everyone can slip money or ask a question about the study, but now they've gone public and that always opens more doors. He also posed an interesting question, "what would happen if a genetically engineered animal escaped and started reproducing?"

WebMD shows that pharmacy also stands to gain a lot from the introduction of genetically engineered animals. People are experimenting across the globe with genetically engineered animals in an effort to change lives. So far, there is only one drug that has been derived by a genetically engineered animal and it has yet to be approved by the United States. Available only in Europe, the medication is "an anti blood-clotting factor produced from goat's milk."

WebMD also shows that genetic engineering has been here for some time. It is already used in agriculture to produce higher-yielding crops and in cultivating lab mice. When asked what animals they chose to genetically engineer, officials said they were focusing on animals that they would serve as food or specifically use to produce medications. Either way, genetic engineering is on the rise, as Larisa Rudenko, a science policy adviser with the FDA's veterinary medicine center states, "We intend to provide a rigorous, risk-based regulatory path for developers to follow to help ensure public health and the health of animals" because research is on the rise.