They are bred in ponds and have been fixed somehow to grow from eggs to maturity more quickly than regular fish. But according to calculations made by Charles Arntzen of Cornell University, the fish mate more often but no eggs survive, meaning if even one got out of its pond and started swimming with the real salmon, there would eventually be no fish at all. The math doesn't work for me, but it sure sounds scary. And to a public that remembers asbestos, tobacco and Chernobyl, assurances from Elliot Entis of Aqua Bounty Farms that this scenario could never happen are hardly reassuring. And this, of course, is one of the underlying problems in the debate.
Nobody trusts official guarantees of safety anymore.
StarLink corn, which is injected with a pesticide, was supposed to be used only for animal feed. Although numerous products contain genetically modified corn, manufacturers are not required to label them as such. Thus, points out Jane Rissler of the Union of Concerned Scientists, if anyone did have an allergic reaction, no one would connect the problem to the product. Although surveys show that Americans would feel far more friendly toward genetically engineered food if they could choose when they eat it, the Grocery Manufacturers' Association is fighting labeling proposals. People like him have at least slowed down the process, and that seems like a good idea.