Genetically Modifying Animals for food

[tanis]

I don't think prisoners would cut it. Maybe test it on mice or pigs or something similar to humans. And that's basically my point. It has to be done, they should just do it more safely.

[Spence]

I'm not sure that there even would be any ill effect with these particular salmon.  Triploidism is a natural (albeit very rare) thing in nature.  When the conditions are right (water temperature and pressure) eggs fetilized will "forget" to kick out the extra chromosomes (the process determining gender), when that happens the fish is Triploid and is completely sterile, being unable to reproduce it focuses on feeding and growing (growing at an increased rate and to a larger size than normal).

The only form of tampering is treating these fish with a hormone that allows growth during winter (when the fish normally goes into survival mode and conserves food and all fat to get through the colder months), which gives them a few more months of growth each year.  Salmon normally mature in 4 to 6 years, which means they reach adult size in that time.  A triploid fish will just grow endlessly provided it has enough food and space, add in a hormone that stimulates growth further and you have a fish that can reach adult size in a year, two tops.

I dont want to sound pushy on this, it's not my intent at all, but i dont see any way that these fish could actually be harmful.  The hormone being used is from another fish, the ocean pout, which is also something we eat, though the ocean pout currently has a bad stigma stuck with it.  About 50 years ago somebody discovered that ocean pout tended to carry protozoan parasites.  Well, a little research would show that protozoan parasites are all around us.  In the ocean, in the lakes, in the rivers, hell even in drinking supplies.  Thoroughly cooking the fish kills off the parasites (note: since the protozoan parasites are found in all bodies of water, all fish are technically carrying them.).

[tanis]

Oh, I don't mean that. I mean the ethics of human testing on prisoners. You're probably right, they probably can't hurt anything. Just that you can't test things on humans without fully informing them, especially if they're prisoners.

[Spence]

Personally i think anybody serving a life sentence or more has already given up their life and as such we should be allowed to experiment on them with whatever.  If you cant do the time, dont do the crime, right?

Naturally i dont mean anything involving torture and whatnot.  But something like this?  Prisoners already get better health care than most americans anyways.  Most of their meals are better than what is served in school cafeterias too.  Hell, start with the ones who volunteer, i'm sure there have to be some lifers that would love to have some salmon anyways lol.

[Delbareth]

I would only say two things about this subject :
- The argument that triploid salmon are natural does not mean at all that eating these salmon is harmless. All that is natural is not necessarely without consequence on health. Caricatural example : perhaps we could improve health by avoiding at all cost to eat these strange natural salmons...
- Secondly : Monsanto... Especially you american wants so strongly make money with anything that it could overcome scientific approach.

I don't say it's a bad things. I personally would love that genetically altered food could be used to feed the humanity, but there are plenty of problems on the way. You cannot reject rational "fears" because history has proven at which point a "good idea" can be perverted.

[Spence]

So called "rational fear" is what has stopped a lot of viable research.  Take stem cells for instance, what could be a viable panacea (cure-all), has been all but stopped in the US due to "rational fear" and "moral objection".

What one company can do for money, another can do as a food resource for the world.  This is just a company getting over that first hurdle, to pave the path for others to come.

[sid6.7]

these fish could eat up what normal fish do hence harming the eco system if all the do is eat and grow....everything has a consequnce in this life.

[olympian73]

I'm against it.  In fact, I'm against most foods these days except meat and veggies.  Check out the Paleo diet and that pretty much covers it.  There is already too much sugar, carbs, and chemicals in our culture.  We have all the food we need if we just took care of our environment....or at least managed it properly.  I don't like the argument, "we're already doing it anyway...", that doesn't mean it's right.  We're already having wars, does that mean we should have more?  Prostitution?  Killing?  The last thing Americans..or western societies need is more food. We're all starving here, eh?  I think some scientist are more interested in seeing if they can do it rather than if it's actually benefiting society.  My two cents...     

[tanis]

Actually, I disagree. We're overpopulated beyond belief. 1 in 6 Americans goes hungry daily. And I don't mean doesn't eat their fill. I mean goes with less than an acceptable amount of food. And we're supposed to be a first world nation. But, I personally think that as long as we eat more healthy meats, fruits, grains, vegetables, and dairy, we're fine. It's the fat and starch and sugar that's killing us. But anyways. And thanks a lot guys. I've been unable to post for quite a while due to lack of an internet capable computer, but I'll try to keep up the postwhoring. ;P