Cloned meat: Britain and Europe set for another clash
Europe is allowing meat from cloned animals to enter the food chain "through an open door", according to MEPs.
歐洲允許動物的克隆肉類進入食物鏈“，穿過一開放的大門”，根據歐洲議會議員。
By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor
Published: 7:09PM BST 09 Sep 2010
Demonstrators wearing masks depicting Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, protest against cloning animals for food, in London Photo: REUTERS
示威者戴著面具描繪英國首相大衛卡梅倫，在倫敦抗議克隆動物作食物 圖片：路透社
They have called for an immediate measures to stop the importing of meat from America, South America or Japan without some safeguards or a new labelling regime put in place.
他們已呼籲即時措施停止從美國、南美或日本進口肉類，沒有一些保障措施或新的標籤制度到位。
Their comments came after the European Commission reconfirmed this week that it believed meat, milk, cheese or any other product from the offspring of a cloned animal was perfectly legitimate and needed no special licence to be sold.
他們的評論是繼歐盟委員會本週重申，它相信肉類、牛奶、奶酪或其它任何產品，來自一種克隆動物的後代是完全合法的，和不需要特別許可才出售。
This position puts Europe at direct loggerheads with the Food Standards Agency, whose board is meeting next week to discuss cloned animals.
這一立場使歐洲與食品標準局直接爭執，它的董事會下週開會討論克隆動物。
The FSA has always stated that any products from the offspring of a cloned animal, even three generations down the line, had to have a licence before they can be sold.
食品標準局已一直表明，任何來自克隆動物後代或是甚至血源三代的產品，必須有許可證才能銷售。
The row between Europe and the FSA has been simmering after the FSA discovered last month that meat from the offspring of a cloned cow had been unwittingly sold in butcher's shops in Britain, without a licence being obtained.
歐洲和FSA的爭嗌已在醞釀，在FSA上個月發現來自克隆牛後代的肉之後，已在不知不覺地賣給在英國的屠夫商店，未獲得牌照。
The discovery that such meat, for the first time had been eaten by consumers, triggered an often ill-tempered debate into the ethics of cloning animals.
這些肉的第一次發現，已被消費者吃了，引發一次常是壞脾氣的辯論，有關克隆動物的倫理。
However, John Dalli, Member of the European Commission, responsible for health and consumer policy, late on Wednesday, said: "The Commission's position is food from cloned animals should not be put on the market without the authorisation as they are considered novel foods.
然而，歐洲委員會負責健康和消費者政策的委員約翰達爾勒，本週三晚上說：“委員會的立場是，來自克隆動物的食品，未經授權不應放在市場上，因為它們被視為 新奇的食品。
"The situation is, however, rather different for the offspring of cloned animals. Such animals cannot be distinguished from those of conventional lineage. This aspect has to be taken into consideration when discussing any proposal the commission proposes."
“然而，對克隆動物的後代情況是相當不同的。這些動物不能與傳統傳承的區分，這一方面需要被考慮，當討論到委員會提出的任何建議。”
Linda McAvan, a Labour MEP, said cloned meat and milk should be banned until a new law is in place regulating production.
"It is not just a question about food safety, it's about what kind of farming and food we want. We know that animal welfare is affected by cloning – there is no scientific doubt on this.
" We need to have a full public debate about cloning and that is why we need a moratorium now on cloned food products until that debate has happened and legislation is in place."
Struan Stevenson, the Conservative MEP, said he was upset by Mr Dalli's statement. "I find it extraordinary and rather disturbing he has literally thrown open the door to any products from cloned animals.
"Americans have no traceability. There is no way of knowing if we are importing meat from cloned animals."
He called for Europe to have the right to put a label on any meat or dairy products coming from America, South America or Japan stating that they could have come from a cloned animal, or the offspring of a cloned animal.
The FSA board is meeting next week. One of its proposals is the board recommends to the Government that: "Future controls on food produced from non-traditionally bred animals should in principle include the original animal and subsequent generations until such time as there is sufficient science and evidence to provide assurance of food safety."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/7992509/Cloned-meat-Britain-and-Europe-set-for-another-clash.html
告訴美藥檢局 '不！' 對轉基因魚
Tell the FDA 'NO!' to GMO fish
Friday, September 10, 2010
by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Consumers may soon have a new "Frankenfood" to contend with as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon decide whether or not to approve genetically-modified (GM) salmon as food. If approved, the GM salmon -- known as AquAdvantage -- will be the first GM animal officially authorized for human consumption in the U.S.
Aqua Bounty Technologies Inc., the company responsible for the new "Frankenfish", has been seeking approval for it from the FDA since 1995. By programming salmon genes to continuously produce growth hormone, scientists from the company have been able to make their engineered fish grow to full size in less than 250 days, as opposed to the 400 days it takes for a natural Atlantic salmon to grow. This, they say, will improve the fish economy and reduce environmental stress.
The company claims that the fish are sterile, pose no environmental or health threats and taste just like the real thing, but not everyone is convinced. In fact, previous studies have shown just the opposite to be true.
科學怪魚是更容易繁殖，然後死掉
Frankenfish are more likely to breed, then die off
In 1999, researchers from Purdue University found that transgenic fish are more attractive to other fish because of their abnormally large size. So more often than not, they beat out real fish in attracting breeding mates, which can cause serious problems if introduced into the wild.
The same study also found that the offspring of transgenic fish live very short lives. So over time, native fish will eventually become extinct in the presence of even a few transgenic fish. According to the university report, 60 fertile GM fish placed in a population of 60,000 native fish could destroy the entire native stock in as little as 20 years.
Despite claims that this could never occur because the fish are sterile, many experts say that the DNA in GM fish will mutate over time and cause them to be able to breed. They could then spread their DNA to other species, altering the genetic makeup of fish everywhere.
"Once you have bombarded an animal with other genes, the DNA is unstable, and there is no guarantee these fish remain sterile," explained Lord Melchett, policy director at the Soil Association of the U.K., in a Telegraph article. "It poses far too great a risk to wild salmon."
There is also no guarantee that the fish will remain in their isolated growing pens. Aqua Bounty insists that the GM salmon will never escape into the wild and thus pose no threat. But once approved, GM salmon will likely start popping up in ocean farm fisheries where the likelihood of escape is very high.
Fish in these farming environments already escape into the wild by the millions every year, so it is more than likely that GM fish will do the exact same thing. And if GM fish begin to escape into the wild, there is no telling the extent to which aquaculture will be permanently altered. And there is no undoing it, either.
"[GM fish] can escape and mingle with the native populations, pass on genetic traits, and their presence will just continue to grow and grow. You can't reverse it," explained Joseph Mendelson, legal director for the Center for Food Safety, in a statement.
像所有的轉基因食品，轉基因鮭魚是對健康危險的
Like all GM food, GM salmon is dangerous to health
According to a recent Reuters article, the FDA has failed to release any of the safety data about Aqua Bounty's GM fish, so nobody can say for sure what the health effects are. But concerned groups say that, like other GM foods, AquAdvantage fish may cause allergies, digestive problems and other serious illness.
Current GE foods like corn and soy are already known to pose health problems. Studies have shown that they are practically poisonous and cause damage to internal organs and the immune system. In animal studies, GM foods have even led to death.
According to Dr. Michael Antoniou, a British molecular scientist, GMOs lead to the "unexpected production of toxic substances...in genetically-engineered bacteria, yeast, plants and animals with the problem remaining undetected until a major health hazard has arisen."
GM corn, for instance, produces its own pesticide inside the corn kernel that repels pests. But this same pesticide is consumed by millions of people every time they eat the corn, leading to untold health problems that are slowly beginning to surface.
To date, there have been no studies conducted proving that any GM foods are safe for human consumption. And the studies that have been conducted show that tampering with nature at the genetic level only causes problems for people and the environment, not benefits.
轉基因山羊、豬亦即將誕生
GM goats, pigs also on the horizon
Unfortunately, biotechnology's frightening addiction to genetic engineering does not stop at crops and salmon. Last year, the FDA approved a GM goat for use in creating an anti-clotting drug called Atryn. And Canadian researchers are currently seeking FDA approval for GM swine called "Enviropig" that allegedly produces environmentally-friendly manure.
And if Aqua Bounty gets its salmon approved, it already has GM trout and tilapia lined up for approval as well.
Unless the citizenry loudly stand up and forcibly stop the genetic re-engineering of the entire planet, such madness will only continue. And if allowed to continue, genetic engineering could eventually destroy the life of the entire planet.
The FDA is set to review and discuss the issue the weekend of September 19, 2010. For three days, the agency will review data and listen to input from outsiders about the issue.
Members of the public can actually register to attend the meeting and share their thoughts in person. To sign up, please visit the following link:https://www.fedmeetings.net/common/registra...
To express opposition to Aqua Bounty's AquAdvantage salmon online, please visit http://www.regulations.gov/.
Once there, you can submit comments for Docket No. FDA-2010-N-0385.Or, you can also mail written correspondence to:Division of Dockets ManagementFood and Drug Administration5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061Rockville, MD 20852
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