It’s time to acknowledge that people impacted by global warming include the poor and disenfranchised, and they need a stake in policy decisions.
The rate increases approved Thursday by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner are lower than the insurance companies had requested.
a repost: a story & issue that needs more research and repeal the rider
AquaBounty …
is a biotechnology company dedicated to the improvement and productivity in aqua culture.
Our mission is to play a significant part in “The Blue Revolution” – bringing together biological sciences and molecular technology to enable an aquaculture industry capable of large-scale, efficient, and environmentally sustainable production of high quality seafood. Increased growth rates, enhanced resistance to disease, better food-conversion rates, manageable breeding cycles, and more efficient use of aquatic production systems are all important components of a sustainable aquaculture industry of the future.
Unless you have been resting … under a rock, you heard about the GE Wheat found in an Oregon Field, though folks keep looking left and right stating uh how did that happen; just remind them using that great song by Bob Dylan because it fits our predicament . “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,” a protest song, that has been described as “impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind”. [2
I think the answer is so obvious and now it is time to stop sitting on the sidelines and go call your member of Congress ~~ Call the White House and tell them 64 countries – including China, Australia and the entire European Union – already require GE/GM foods be labeled.
I hear that HR933 had among other things, something called the Monsanto Protection Act. Reports from various news sources are that the rider was quietly tucked into the House bill without a proper hearing that is currently chaired by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). I do not know about you but that sadden me considering all that we know about GMOs/GM and even more important, do we know what high consumptions will do to humans in the long term…
Anyway, unless you live in a completely sustainable environment you know that we already eat GMO; you can find out by reading about Monsanto, Cargill, DuPont or Dow Chemical and the best possible way to fight back is by buying local, free-range to avoid some if not all GMOs and synthetic chemicals. Currently, Salmon farming in open net-cages is a reality in Canada, though in March of 2013, “CAAR congratulated the BC government for ceasing issuance of new open net-cage aquaculture tenures.” Yet, their federal government has not acted, making the threat or risk to consumers more likely if the number of plants increase while inspections are far and few, giving some GMO’s an opportunity escape or muscle their way into the wild or even worse the pens are so cramed the environment becomes even more unsanitary. FYI: most if not all GMO salmon will be bigger … above average in all it’s GMO self … which means frankenfish …right?!!! ewww
I ask, do you ask your grocer or the restaurants you eat at if your food of choice is farmed, if not, it is time to demand proper labels wherever aquaculture products are sold. Now, you need to say GM and though we all know something not much sunlight has been shed on GM’s … farmed raised fish are GM’s in my opinion. AquaBounty stated that “If the company is successful, the salmon would be the first genetically modified food animal on the market.” I have to say the notion that GM Salmon would be the first GM food is one thing but to say it is safe has yet to be proven and beyond offensive
One problem among many I have with GM salmon and the company the FDA is doing business with is: Is AquaBounty really a US company as portrayed or was it certified in Canada, given special treatment and relocated in the U.S. The story I heard was that the eggs will come from Canada be hatched and raised in Panama, not Panama Florida, then sold to the U.S. I don’t know about you but I prefer to know where my food comes from, what I am eating and that it is properly labeled giving me the option a CHOICE to say no thanks. Labeling, it is not lost on me that labeling food might not be cost effective or lucrative for restaurants or grocers yet I cannot imagine anyone working for those places or the owners actually eating GM products at home by choice without knowing where ” It” came from .
Choice, my word of the day lately, which covers so many things going on today and the lack of it, pisses me off.
In 2010, 6500 folks chose to take a survey asking if you would eat GMs, 643 said sure, 177 maybe, 5466 No Way, and 147 said I am not sure. Yes, I would have voted No Way. I can hear my dad warning us, who first thought farmed fish, would help sustain the wild; talk about the whispers of ill-equipped , lack of technology or knowledge resulting in nasty bacteria and the possibility of cross contamination. There are reports that marine mammals, such as seals, sea lions and porpoises, may have been killed as the result of the production of the farmed fish not to mention them selling GM without telling you that what you are eating has a little something extra in it. Some environmentalists worry about the possibility of GM salmon breeding with wild salmon. AquaBounty says, “All its salmon are female, most are sterile, and they would be raised in land-based facilities.” This is supposed to make us feel better after reported incidences in Panama. I admit to laughing about these GM Salmon being female… and mostly sterile. There are far too many jokes to be sure, but the joke is the number folks are talking about ~~ 95% … sound familiar to you. Okay, I will say it, you only need one sperm deposit to break through to fertilize a possible 7000 eggs – or roe as my family calls it that wild female salmon lay; maybe 10% of those survive but that 5% margin is silly and suffice it to say cross contamination with GMs could eliminate wild salmon, alter all that salmon do organically for the eco-system like support wildlife at least in the NW – Healthy Salmon runs mean a healthy eco-system.
Folklore has it that Salmon return to the exact spot where they were born to spawn; tracking studies have shown this to be true, and this homing behavior has been shown to depend on olfactory memory … Yet another thing no GM probably can do.
Americans need to demand labels
Salmon Farm Facts
from www.farmedanddangerous.org
On March 18, 2013
AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.
(“AquaBounty” or “the Company”)
Result of General Meeting
Further to the announcement of 15 February 2013, the Board of AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. (AIM: ABTX), a biotechnology company focused on enhancing productivity in the aquaculture market, announces that at the General Meeting of shareholders held on 15 March, all resolutions were duly passed.
The Company will proceed to complete the transaction to raise $6.0 million (£3.9 million) before expenses by means of a subscription of 22,883,295 new Common Shares (the “Subscription Shares”) by Intrexon Corporation (“Intrexon”) and certain other existing shareholders of the Company. Admission to AIM and commencement of trading of the Subscription Shares is scheduled to occur on 19 March 2013. Total shares outstanding upon admission will be 125,138,983, of which Intrexon will hold 67,346,258 shares or 53.8 percent.
For further information, please contact:
AquaBounty Technologies +1 781 899 7755
David Frank, Chief Financial Officer
Nomura Code Securities +44(0)20 7776 1200
Giles Balleny
Luther Pendragon
Resources:
consumersunion.org
cbc.ca/news …
naturalnews.com …
wiki
Be a Seed for Change -me
AquaBounty, is also just one of probably many companies in the “aquaculture” industry … I just chose to write about their upcoming or direct association with the US Government and some say they are based in Massachusetts
Written in 2013
Earlier this year we let you know about the Food and Drug Administration’s impending approval of a genetically modified (GMO) strain of salmon. Over 54,000 CREDO Action members responded by telling the FDA not to approve the fish. There are some signs that our pressure is working. At the public hearing in September several members of the advisory committee criticized the poor science submitted by AquaBounty, the company engineering the fish, and called for more rigorous scientific review before moving forward with the approval process.1 While the committee has not yet issued a recommendation on whether to approve the salmon, the FDA has opened a public comment period on labeling requirements should the organism be brought to market. We still firmly believe that AquaBounty’s application should be rejected, but we need to fight this battle on all fronts. People who know anything about this salmon have good reason to be afraid. The fish is modified with genes from another species — the eelpout — so that it can grow twice as fast as normal.2 Because the FDA is reviewing the salmon application under its rules for animal drugs, there is little focus on the potential dangers of human consumption. Additionally, the FDA has not conducted any of its own research and is instead relying on information provided by AquaBounty, a company that has a financial incentive to downplay potential dangers. There are also serious concerns about the environmental impact of the fish. Studies show that if just a few GMO salmon escaped into the wild, they could eradicate the wild Atlantic salmon population in less than 40 fish generations.3 Clearly, the FDA shouldn’t allow the fish to be produced in the first place. But if it does, the FDA should require that it be clearly labeled so we can decide on our own to keep it off our dinner plates. Adam Klaus, Campaign Manager |
ANCHORAGE – Seattle diners who order the salmon will get their meal with a message.
Chefs at more than a dozen restaurants are cooking up fish dishes that come with a special side: a warning that the creature’s future could be threatened by a giant gold and copper mine proposed for Bristol Bay in southwest Alaska, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon runs.
Kevin Davis, co-owner of the Steelhead Diner, is an avid catch-and-release fly fisherman who recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he lobbied for permanent protection of Bristol Bay.
“Wild seafood is a rare and special commodity,” Davis said Thursday. “When I heard the news about the Pebble Mine and how it could potentially affect what is probably the world’s remaining strongholds of salmon, I became very concerned.”
To encourage his customers to help in the cause, the Steelhead Diner will feature three dishes using Alaska salmon: Tomato-Crusted Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon, Meyer Lemon-Crusted Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon and Hot-Smoked Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon Cheesecake.
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The first genetically engineered (GE) meat approved for human consumption might soon be on its way to a supermarket near you – a fast-growing salmon developed by a company called AquaBounty Technologies.
But it gets fishier. If AquaBounty’s GE salmon is approved for sale, the FDA might decide to put it right next to normal salmon in the meat case, without any special labeling. Consumers would be none the wiser.
We deserve to know if the meat on our plate is genetically engineered or not. Companies and FDA officials shouldn’t keep us in the dark about the foods we eat or feed to our families.
Tell the FDA you want labels on genetically engineered foods so you can make an informed choice.
No labeling is a dangerous precedent to set for genetically modified foods. Recent drug recalls have shown us that just because the FDA approves something doesn’t mean it’s safe in the long term. Any adverse effects of genetically modified meat on people might not show up until it’s already been consumed by a large number of Americans. And by then it’s too late. Without labeling, it will be even harder to recognize and track problems that might be caused by GE foods.
AquaBounty Technologies’ own scientists are telling the FDA that its GE salmon is perfectly safe. But there’s no way they can prove these claims, and we can’t dump unlabeled GE salmon into the food supply on the word of the company that stands to make a profit.
The FDA is being heavily lobbied by AquaBounty Technologies about its forthcoming decision, and now needs to hear from concerned consumers like you about whether GE salmon should be labeled or not.
It’s up to the FDA to keep our food supply safe, and it’s up to us to let the FDA know where consumers stand on GE foods.
Thanks for taking action
– The Change.org Team
Be a Seed for Change 