Genetically engineered meat products moved closer to market by FDA

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

I’ve got a suggestion for FDA officials.

Remember that late 80s pop song by Bobby McFerrin? I’m sure you’ve heard it a thousand times – Don’t Worry, Be Happy. It’s a catchy little tune behind a light-hearted lyric.

Here’s my suggestion: The FDA should make Don’t Worry, Be Happy the official theme song of the agency. They could fix up their website so the song starts playing every time you visit. And they could pipe in a recording at the opening and closing of all FDA press conferences and public meetings.

This would be a perfect way to reassure consumers that everything is just fine. Safe as can be! Like when scientists mess around with the DNA of animals used for meat consumption – Hey man! Don’t worry! It’s all good!

What could possibly go wrong?

Last month, the FDA published proposed guidelines for regulating genetically engineered (GE) animals for consumer consumption and drug development. These guidelines are actually a working draft, and the public is invited to submit comments to the agency before a final draft is established.

So…why GE meat?

Scientists can manipulate DNA to alter an animal’s normal traits. For instance, DNA can be reprogrammed by introducing a gene from one species (such as an eel) into the DNA of another species (such as a salmon) to create a fish that grows faster.

In fact, that’s exactly what a company called Aqua Bounty Technologies has already done. And the result is a salmon that reaches full size in just a year and a half rather than three years, because the revamped DNA will produce natural growth hormone all the time, rather than just during the summer.

Elliot Entis, the vice chairman of ABT told the Associated Press that the genetically altered salmon “tastes just like any other farm-raised salmon.” He also stated that the GE process is “like tuning up your car.”

Now there’s a perfect Don’t Worry, Be Happy message for you. Have you ever tuned a car? That’s not dangerous, is it? In fact, it’s GOOD for the car. Well there you go! And the salmon tastes the same so it MUST be just fine.

But then comes the reality: The salmon will be kept in secure pens to prevent them from escaping into the wild to interact with non-GE species.

Yes – I’m sure nothing could possibly go wrong in that plan.

The secret in the meat

Don’t worry? Be happy? If only. There are two big worries with the FDA draft guidelines.

Big Worry One: In GE-modified animals that are bred for food use, the FDA won’t be doing the safety testing – that step will be the responsibility of food producers. It’s the same basic system as with drugs. A drug company produces and finances the pre- approval studies, and then the FDA reviews the studies. And we’ve seen just how really well THAT system has worked over the years.

Big Worry Tw In cases where animals are raised for food use, the FDA will not require meat producers to note GE-modification on product packaging unless there’s some alteration in the final product, such as an increase in a particular nutrient. So that super- fast-growing salmon would not require a label. You’d be eating fish with designer DNA, but you’d never know it.

But don’t worry! What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right?

In an ABC News poll, more than 90 percent of Americans said they wanted the government to require mandatory labeling of all GE foods.

Let’s put that to the test. If you’d like to submit comments about GE regulations to the FDA, just go to fda.gov, and in the search bar type “ge animals.” Let the FDA know how you feel about withholding GE product information from the public.

Sources:
“FDA Releases Draft Guidance on Regulations of Genetically Engineered Animals” Consumer Updates, Food and Drug Administration, 9/18/08, fda.gov
“Consumer Group Critical of FDA Guidance on GE Animals” NutraIngredients-USA, 9/19/08, nutraingredients-usa.com
“For Dinner: Genetically Altered ‘Super chicken'” Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Associated Press, 9/19/08, ap.org