The smell of fishy

Well, we should have seen it coming.  Even though there was great effort by concerned consumers to stop the inevitable, cooperate America won yet another battle against personal freedom and common sense as the FDA recently approved the sale of GM salmon.  Here is the FDA's response.

What is maddening to me is the insane persistence of regulatory agencies to tow the party line when it comes to safety and containment of GMO's.  Reading the above document you get the sense that they actually believe that GM salmon can be contained and that there is absolutely no evidence that GMO's are harmful to both the health of consumers and agriculture in general.   But then the FDA has been in the pockets of big Ag for a long time so nothing should surprise us now.

Also not surprising but worth noting is that the FDA will not require labeling of GM salmon.  So if you are into eating salmon from a store or restaurant, you will be fed this stuff and not even know it.  For most Americans that is fine as we tend to prefer ignorance over truth anyway.  But once these man made experiments escape into the wild (and escape they shall), even those who fish for natural salmon will find they are instead catching and consuming something created in a lab and not natural at all.  Bon appetit!

Yet another problem with the FDA's bungle is that the problem with fish farms isn't that the fish don't grow fast enough.  The problem with these farms isn't all that dissimilar to what we see coming out of factory farms.  Disease, suffering and prodigious waste that is ruining our waterways and environment.  But it is clear the FDA isn't really interested in animal welfare or the environment, never mind that of consumers.

The best we can do now is educate the public so that there is not a single restaurant or grocery store chain that will sell the stuff.  But I am afraid it is too late.  It won't be long before GM salmon is spotted in the wild and the FDA and AquaBounty (the company producing the fish) scramble all over each other to deny they had anything to do with it.

I may write more about this in the coming days because there are some questions I have concerning the FDA's response and what their response might be when the fish get out or concerns about health and eating these fish go from theory to reality.

A little inconvenience

If I, as one person, can somehow decrease, even just a little, the suffering that happens in this world, whether that of a human or an animal, then I am glad to do so.  If I can do that simply by not eating certain foods or purchasing certain materials then what could be easier?  It is such a simple asceticism one that, in the grand scheme of life, hardly can be accurately called asceticism.

I asked, "What?! I can change the life of another fellow creature for the better by not eating dairy and meat and not wearing their skins?  It can't be that easy, can it?"  I sought to answer my own question and discovered to my wonderment and growing excitement that it is that easy.  It has, as of this posting, been over four years and I am still discovering.

I help animals, that much is obvious.  But what about humans?  Yes, humans too.  For those who kill are also effected even if we don't want to admit that.  Killing, killing and more killing.  Millions of suffering animals are harvested for their "resources" by humans each year and they are effected by it.  Sometimes physically but most of the time mentally.  I'll hear objections for hunters or those who own a couple of chickens that the effects certainly can't be all that bad.  They themselves don't notice any and they kill.  But what they fail to see is that a little pin prick on the hand can hardly be noticed, but chop the hand off or fill it with gangrene and the situation becomes more desperate, more noticeable.

Each time I am inconvenienced by having to abstain from a meal or walk past a pair of shoes or a jacket, instead of feeling inconvenienced, I will feel peace and gladness that I could help some worker or creature by this little inconvenience.