Concerns over a factory “farm” to raise 10,000 tons of GE (genetically engineered) salmon a year brought residents from across Northwest Ohio to the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority board meeting in Toledo, as part of national protests against AquaBounty Technologies. The Port Authority recently approved over $400 million in bonds for the facility in the Williams County town of Pioneer. Last week, the US Nasdaq exchange threatened AquaBounty with delisting if it does not lift its low share price because it has traded below $1 for 30 days, violating the exchange's rules. Protesters said the proposed Aquabounty salmon facility threatens drinking water supplies. “Nutrients from the waste will worsen Lake Erie’s toxic algae and genetically engineered salmon escaping from the facility would wreak havoc on the Great Lakes ecosystem,” said Mike Ferner of Lake Erie Advocates. “We already have 25 million confined animals in our watershed using Lake Erie as a free toilet. We don’t need to add the waste from 10,000 tons of GE salmon every year.” einnews.com

 

 

Members of the Block Corporate Salmon (BCS) team attended the US FDA's public meeting on their new environmental assessment of AquaBounty's genetically engineered salmon facilities in Prince Edward Island, Canada. BCS feels the scope of their assessment was too narrow and didn’t fully address many important issues, such as:
* Indigenous knowledge and consent. In the case of GE salmon escaping, even if likelihood is low, the impact could be catastrophic for wild ecosystems and fish. Who gets to make the call of whether that risk is worth it?
* Proper disposal of deceased fish, AQB’s usage of antibiotics and antifungals, the potential for GE salmon eggs to be sent mistakenly to open-net-pen salmon farms, wastewater impacts on surrounding waterways and salmon habitat, the possibility of salmon eggs being taken from the facility (we know at least one incident where workers took eggs home and reared fish in ponds), and containment protocols during power outages and storms – for example, a 2008 storm that caused mass fish escape at an AquaBounty facility in Panama.
* A whistleblower report paints a damning picture of lax attitudes and neglect of protocols at AquaBounty. @BlockCorporateSalmon on Twitter

 

 

The expansive use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in agriculture is one of the most potent symbols of the worldwide threat to food justice and food sovereignty, said Dr Jackie Ikeotuonye, CEO, BFA Food & Health Group in a presentation at a webinar on December 12 to launch a campaign tagged “My Food is African”. Organised by the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in collaboration with the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), the campaign aims at influencing the development of a cohesive food policy which will align policies on food and agriculture to build a healthy food environment, promote healthy diets for all, re-balance power in food system, and to involve a wider range of stakeholders in designing and assessing policies. EnviroNews Nigeria

 

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