Secrete Topic Debate

Time to announce the full resolutin!Full resolution: Approve GMO Salmon in the United States.Fear of the unknown blocks many from achieving great things. Worse than that is when we insist that something well-known is still unknown and we allow it to continue to frighten us. The benefits of turning from ignorance to science compel me to affirm that The United States federal government should substantially reform its marine natural resource policies. Observation 1. My Definitions: Marine Natural Resources: Genevieve Anderson, last revised in 2009. http://www.marinebio.net... “Physical marine natural resources include products from the ocean as well as the ocean itself.” Substantial: “considerable in quantity : significantly great” (Merriam-Webster Online Dict., 2013, http://www.merriam-webster.com... Reform: “to put or change into an improved form or condition”(Merriam-Webster Online Dict., 2013, http://www.merriam-webster.com...) Policy: “a high-level overall plan embracing the general goals and acceptable procedures especially of a governmental body” (Merriam-Webster Online Dict., 2013, http://www.merriam-webster.com...) Observation 2. The current conditions of the Status Quo. One simple fact: 18 years of waiting for genetically modified salmon, with no end in sight. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) news 2013 http://www.cbc.ca... AquaBounty began seeking American approval in 1995. "Eighteen-plus years" said AquaBounty's David Conley with a joyless chuckle. "It's a moving target. We just have no idea. AquaBounty has submitted all the scientific data the FDA has requested of it. And in significant preliminary findings last year, the FDA said approving the AquaBounty fish "would not have a significant effect on the quality of the human environment in the United States," or on American salmon stocks. But then it went and extended the public comment process all over again. In an email to CBC News this week, the FDA's Theresa Eisenman said "it is not possible to predict a timeline for when these decisions will be made. Observation 3. My Plan: 1. The Monday after an Affirmative ballot, the Food & Drug Administration approves AquaBounty salmon for sale in the United States. 2. Enforcement through normal means. 3. All Affirmative speeches may clarify as needed. Observation 4. The Advantages: Advantage 1. Reduced heart disease: Poor people would eat more fish. Availability of genetically modified salmon would lower the price and motivate lower-income people to eat more fish - and that’s good for public health Dr. Davide Menozzi, Prof. Cristina Mora, and Alberto Merigo 2012. http://www.agbioforum.org... Acceptance of GM salmon might increase if consumers identify more personal benefits than benefits to the business sector. Human health benefits from improved nutrition (higher n-3 fatty acid intake) may result from higher consumption of fish driven by a lower market price. In particular, the price reduction could stimulate fresh (GM) salmon consumption in low-income households susceptible to conditions linked to poor nutrition thus, GM salmon consumption may have high marginal benefits to public health. Reduced deaths from heart disease. N-3 Fatty Acids from fish reduce cardiovascular death. Dr. J. L. Breslow 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... The results of prospective cohort studies indicate that consuming fish or fish oil containing n-3 fatty acids is associated with decreased cardiovascular death, the American Heart Association recommends that everyone eat oily fish twice per week Advantage 2. Biotech jobs. Our plan prevents offshoring US biotech jobs. Companies will leave. The salmon saga proves that we can’t allow political decisions to block biotech development in the US. If we do, biotech companies will move offshore. Alison L. Van Eenennaam, Prof. William Muir & Prof. Eric Hallerman 2013 http://www.seafoodsource.com... (contains a link to download the PDF file that contains the quote below) Key GE animal innovations — including, but not limited to, the example of the AquAdvantage® salmon presented above — have languished in regulatory review from years to more than a decade. Regulatory inaction has the consequences of threatening not only these particular products, but animal biotechnology more generally. V. IMPACT OF POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS Again, in the words of Dr. Calestous Juma: “It is imperative that the United States stay the course it has set in not letting politics interfere with its science-based regulatory system that is truly the envy of the world.” If the United States fails to provide a regulatory path to market for beneficial biotechnologies,research and development of these innovations will move to countries with more predictable policy. At least 200,000 jobs at risk National Center on Education and the Economy 2006. http://www.jff.org... In 2004, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 1,444 US firms narrowly defined as engaged in biotechnology, employing close to 200,000 people. Other estimates, using a broader definition of “biotech,” put employment as high as 885,000. Biotech jobs pay roughly $26,600 more than the overall national average private sector wage. Biotech firms are very research-intensive, spending roughly a third of their budgets on R&D, compared to the US corporate average of around 4 percent. Advantage 3. Environmental benefits. Genetically engineered fish promote sustainable fish supply Alison L Van Eenennaam & William M Muir 2011 http://ucanr.org... Wild-caught fish deplete the oceanic stocks and do not present a long-term, ecologically sustainable solution to rising global fish demand. One of the benefits associated with the development of GE fish for aquaculture may well be in helping to reduce recognized pressure on wild fish populations. Advantage 4. New technologies. Approving GE salmon means we stop blocking the development of additional new technologies that would benefit mankind Alison L Van Eenennaam & William M Muir 2011 http://ucanr.org... The current regulatory approach in the United States, coupled with the unpredictable time frame, has stymied commercial investment in the development of GE animals for agricultural applications. The abuse of good-faith attempts to increase transparency and enable public participation in the GE animal regulatory process, coupled with political efforts to prohibit the FDA from regulating GE AquAdvantage salmon as it approaches the close of its protracted regulatory journey, are unlikely to have reassured potential investors. This outcome may jeopardize future access to improved genetic lines resulting from new technological developments (e.g., disease-resistant GE animals), with negative consequences on food security and other broadly supported societal goals, including improved human and animal health. Conclusion: Moving forward We need to stop letting the fear of the unknown block us from achieving great things, we need to move America on to continue to make great things and have great idea ideas for our future.