Suit Brought Over Genetically Modified Salmon Approval

Liz Ruskin/APRN
A coalition of environmental, consumer and fishing groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA’s approval of a genetically modified salmon. The lawsuit says the FDA approved the Aqua Advantage salmon without fully considering the effect the engineered fish could have on wild stocks and the larger ecology.

The FDA last year approved AquaBounty’s plan to produce eggs in Canada, raise the fish in Panama and sell the product as food in the United States. The lawsuit alleges the FDA should have considered the company’s ultimate goal: to supply genetically engineered fish to fish farms in the U.S. and overseas.

Plaintiffs include Friends of the Earth, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and Food & Water Watch. They filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Northern California Wednesday.