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Date:         Thu, 13 Apr 2000 16:18:35 EDT
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From: Jim Diamond <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      GE fish
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Environmentalists alarmed over giant GM fish

By Paul Majendie


LONDON, April 11 (Reuters) - Environmentalists warned on Tuesday that
genetically modified fish which can grow 10 times faster than normal could
taint the gene pool and upset the delicate balance of nature.

The latest alarm bells about what critics call "Frankenstein Foods" were
sounded after a U.S firm -- AF Protein -- engineered GM fish which could cut
the cost of raising salmon and trout by half.

Both British and U.S. environmentalists said more tests were needed before
the fish are served up on dinner plates.

GM proponents say the technology could help feed the developing world, cut
costs and reduce the need for pesticides. Detractors say the health risks of
the fledgling technology are unclear and the environmental hazards
potentially alarming.

GROWTH HORMONE GENES

British supermarkets are wary of stocking GM food due to deep-seated consumer
fears about their safety and most leading chains have now pulled such produce
from their shelves.

AF Protein is reported to have inserted growth hormone genes from one fish
and genes from another fish, which can activate them, into Atlantic salmon.

It says the technology is precise enough to be sure that only genetically
modified fish can produce the growth hormone. It also made sure that all its
"guinea pig" fish are infertile.

But Andrew Kimbrell, from the Washington-based Centre For Food Safety, said:
"It is not possible to ensure 100 percent of the fish are sterile."

He told BBC Radio: "Once you have an organism out there, you can't recall it.
It reproduces, it disseminates, it mutates.

"We have low probability, admittedly, but very high consequences if a few of
those fish do escape and they do mate with native wild populations, no one,
nothing, can stop that genetic pollution from destroying that species."

British environmentalists were equally concerned, echoing the anger they
vented last year when details were revealed about similar experiments being
done in Scotland.

Christopher Poupard, director of the Salmon and Trout Association which
lobbies on behalf of game anglers, said: "Salmon are unique and highly
complex. They migrate thousands of miles and still manage to return to their
home river. This has evolved since the last ice age."

He said environmentalists share the same concern: "Escaped GM fish might
breed with wild fish and interrupt that process."

AF Protein are said to be confident that U.S. authorities would clear the
fish for human consumption within a year.

AF Protein President Elliot Entis said toxilogical tests were unnecessary.
"There is no level at which you could examine our fish and find any
difference between our fish and the non-GM fish," he told BBC Radio.

"FRANKEN-FISH"

Environmental groups reacted angrily last year to news that Britain had
allowed experiments in Scotland to create GM salmon.

Details of the so-called "Franken-fish" experiments emerged when Scottish
Secretary John Reid told parliament that thousands of fish were given an
extra gene to make them grow faster.

The experiment took place three years ago in a confined, land-based area to
prevent the fish from escaping into the wild.

"Approximately 50 of the fish grew at four times the normal rate with no sign
of abnormalities. The project was terminated after approximately a year and
all the fish were destroyed," Reid said. He denied that the tests were kept
secret.

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