Think Green Live Clean

Let’s be honest; the world today is increasingly dominated by man and less by nature. It is common knowledge that the world’s population is rapidly increasing, and that a major effect is an escalating strain on the world’s food supply. But did you know that we would need five planet Earths to sustain the current population at U.S. standards of living? The fact of the matter is, there’s only one Earth, and this one Earth has to sustain the growing population by way of land or sea. The Blue Revolution, or “aquaculture”, is a product of the growing need to feed the people of the planet and a scientific response to the presently depleted fish population. But just how green is the developing Blue Revolution?

On one hand, contributing Blue Revolution companies like AquaBounty (currently developing genetically modified salmon) believe advances in genetically modified seafood will create an aquaculture industry capable of large-scale, economical, and environmentally sustainable production of high quality seafood. This may reduce the issue of a lacking food supply, but how high on the “quality scale” can genetically modified food be? Opponents like Consumers Union point a finger at the lack of safety testing that has currently been done, especially given that historic research alludes to the possibility of dangers including allergens, toxins, and new diseases. Bearing in mind that 60-70% of our food supply is genetically modified and the actuality that over a billion people rely on fish as their main source of protein, it is no surprise that seafood is headed in the same direction.

While the reality is that we cannot escape the genetically modified food world- there are some things we can do instead of fighting the inevitable. For example, we can push for communication strategies that support explicit public concerns on the matter, rather than exclude them. As of now, public knowledge and participation is minimal- and public participation is what encourages trust in institutional practices. So readers: be aware, and stay informed. Genetically modified foods are most likely already a part of your life, but it is your job as a consumer to help legitimize practices that affect the health of human beings, and the planet.

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