U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issued the following statement after a US District Court Judge for the Northern District of California ruled yesterday the Food and Drug Administration violated core environmental laws in approving the genetically engineered (GE) salmon:
“The impacts that genetically engineered salmon could have on Alaskans, our commercial fishing industry, and seafood consumers all over the world are concerning, and, as this ruling found, understudied. Yesterday’s court ruling is welcome news. It confirms the FDA’s decision to allow GE salmon to be produced in different locations across North America was in violation of the law, and did not consider the potential for severe consequences on nature’s best brain food – wild salmon. I have introduced legislation for years identifying these exact flaws within FDA’s wholly inadequate assessment of the threat GE salmon poses to wild salmon stocks. I’m glad the court has caught up with my reasoning and recognized the concerns raised by many Alaskans about GE salmon.”
Background: In the 116th Congress, Senator Murkowski introduced the Genetically Engineered Salmon Labeling Act to ensure that any GE salmon products in the U.S. market are clearly labeled “genetically engineered” in the market name. In the year-end Fiscal Year 2020 funding bill, Senator Murkowski secured a provision which requires the market name of any genetically engineered product approved prior to the effective date of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard to include the term “genetically engineered.”
