In the table talk, we talked about GMO animals and how that may have more of a place in our lives in the near future now that GMO salmon is officially coming on to the market. I personally don’t eat meat, so I’m not much of a stakeholder in the field of GMO animals, but I can definitely see how this can impact all of us.

The appeal of GMO salmon (and GMO animals in general) is that the animals can be raised fast (they grow faster), and so can be sold cheaper. So, that may mean cheaper/more accessible meat for the public. However, the concerns: some people don’t know if there are any long term side-effects to eating GMO produce, and some worry that it may mess up the livelihood of fish farmers, etc. My own concerns doesn’t really involve either of those–GMO produce can’t possibly be any worse than what we are currently pumping/injecting into our livestock now, and produce farmers, whether it be cattle, fish, or chicken–are usually all employed by one single big corporation anyways–my concern revolves around the environment and how this change can adversely impact it. GMO farming doesn’t make farming livestock any more sustainable, just faster. And faster is not better, it just means more can be produced in less time. GMO farming doesn’t improve the lives of the livestock animals–farmed salmon will still be farmed salmon, living in small, cramped, unclean spaces, but GMO farming would encourage even more of that to happen, because more salmon would be produced. People, motivated by cheap salmon, will buy more salmon (or at least buy the same amount), which doesn’t help the carbon footprint of eating meat at all. In the very end, the big corporations that are creating and distributing these GMO salmons are making a lot of money, but the animals suffer, and the environment suffers. GMO farming can have a lot of potential, but when money is involved, things usually aren’t done in the interests of everyone involved; just in the interest of the person who gets the money. So–maybe it’s a good idea, maybe it’s not–it’s interesting to see where this will take us.