<div dir="ltr"><h2 class="" style="font-size:1.4em;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Nobile,Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;margin:0px 0px 0.3em;font-weight:normal;background-color:rgb(229,229,229)">Genetically Engineered Salmon: Coming Soon To a Bagel Near You</h2>
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Written by moshe</p></div></div><div class="" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12px;line-height:18px;background-color:rgb(229,229,229)"><p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px">
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">What is a GMO? </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">A Genetically Modified Organism. Often also referred to as Genetically Engineered.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">What is GMO Salmon? This is Salmon bread with DNA from eels.</span></p><p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px">
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">Hillygram thought this was an interesting story from a KASHRUS perspective.</span></p><p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">IS GMO SALMON with EEL DNA, KOSHER?  While KASHURS was our main interest, our physical health in eating such foods is also a major concern and of interest to us.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">Hillygram was alerted to this issue by one of our subscribers, Lisa Goldwag Kassner. Lisa is an active member of the Los Angeles Jewish community, and a San Fernando Valley area volunteer coordinator for the California Label GMO's campaign. Lisa is very concerned about the entire GMO issue from a Kashrus, Environmental and Health perspective. Lisa has supplied us with much information about the subject.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">Why GMO Salmon with eel DNA? Money, of course.  Lower farming costs and higher profits, and the consumer wants lower prices. Salmon with eel genes will grow to maturity twice as fast as normal.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">In her article to the Hillygram, Lisa included the following information from Dr. Michael Hansen, Senior Scientist at Consumers Union (publisher of Consumer Reports).  Dr. Hansen writes that the FDA determination of no additional significant health risk is based on manipulated data and inadequate studies. Allergy risk findings were based on only six fish, and those allergic to finfish could experience severe allergic reactions.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">Dr. Hansen goes on to quote Friends of the Earth, who writes “GE salmon are unhealthy and suffer from skeletal deformities, jaw erosions, inflammation, lesions, increased susceptibility to disease, and increased mortality, raising serious … human health concerns from eating sick fish. Overall, GE salmon have 40% higher levels of IGF-1.”  </span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">“IGF-1 is a hormone that has been associated with increased risk of a number of cancers, especially prostate, breast, colorectal and lung,” adds Dr. Hansen.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">The <strong>Center for Food Safety</strong> summarizes that<strong> </strong>the science is not there to say these fish are safe to eat. Further research is needed.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">We asked the OU to comment on the subject and we received the following email:</span></p><p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px">
<span style="color:rgb(51,102,255);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">Beginning of OU email--------------------------------------------------------</span></span></p><p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px">
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">Salmon with eel <span class="">DNA is fine as long as it has fins and scales.</span> </span></p><p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">The OU is a Kosher certifying agency. Health aspects of food production are beyond our area of expertise.  Issues of health and safety are the domain of the FDA and USDA, and the OU will certify products that are in compliance with FDA and USDA regulations.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">Halacha is extremely sensitive to matters of health, to the extent that <em>chamira sakanta meisura</em> (life-threatening health concerns generally take precedence over Halachic restrictions). Nonetheless, as a kashrus agency, the expertise of the OU is limited to the domain of kosher supervision, and the evaluation of the health status of a product is beyond the scope of the OU’s mandate. There are government agencies that are entrusted with the responsibility of insuring the safety of food items, and the OU certifies products that meet the criteria of public health and safety requirements.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">OU Kosher</span></p><p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="color:rgb(51,102,255);font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">End of OU email--------------------------------------------------------</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">For another perspective on the KASHURS issue, Brooklyn Orthodox Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Serebryanski said even though a small amount of a non-kosher food doesn’t usually render a food non-kosher, it does when it becomes an<em>intrinsic part</em> of the food. It is prohibited to genetically engineer salmon with eel genes because such boundary crossing is prohibited by the Creator. Using genetic engineering to cross boundaries set up by the Creator creates an imbalance and distortion, disrupting a person’s connection with the Creator.</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking public comments through April 26, on whether to approve the first genetically engineered (“GE” or “GMO”) animal species: Atlantic salmon with chinook salmon and ocean pout (eel, non-kosher) genes forced into its DNA.  (to voice your opinion to the FDA see below)</span></p>
<p style="margin:0.35em 0px 0.8em;padding:0px"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt">Lisa, suggests that if you would like to make your voice heard </span><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';font-size:12pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Comments to the FDA may be made until April 26 at:</span><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,153)"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><a href="http://www.hillygram.com/Local%20Settings/Temp/888/463-6332,%20x3" style="text-decoration:none;outline-style:none;color:rgb(0,154,202)">888/463-6332, x3</a> then x6 (Center for Veterinary Medicine) or   <a href="http://tiny.cc/in82qw" style="text-decoration:none;outline-style:none;color:rgb(0,154,202)">http://tiny.cc/in82qw</a>.</span></span></span></p>
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