The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 19 approved genetically engineered salmon, called “Frankenfish” by critics, as “safe” for human consumption in spite of massive public opposition to the decision.

The Golden Gate Salmon Association (GGSA) announced that it was “disappointed” in the decision, joining a broad coalition of fishing groups, environmental organizations, tribes, and consumer groups in criticizing the approval of the first-ever genetically engineered animal for the dinner table.

The FDA approved the controversial AquaBounty Technologies’ application for AquAdvantage Salmon, an Atlantic salmon that reaches market size faster than non-GE farm-raised Atlantic salmon, claiming it is safe to eat, safe for the environment, and safe for the fish itself — despite a large amount of evidence provided by GMO opponents challenging this contention.

The company added a growth hormone-regulating gene from a Pacific Chinook salmon and a promoter from an ocean eel pout to the Atlantic salmon’s 40,000 genes, allowing the fish to grow year-round instead of only during spring and summer.

[jump] The FDA regulates GE animals under the new “animal drug” provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because the recombinant DNA (rDNA) construct introduced into the animal meets the definition of a “drug,” according to the FDA. 

“The FDA has thoroughly analyzed and evaluated the data and information submitted by AquaBounty Technologies regarding AquAdvantage Salmon and determined that they have met the regulatory requirements for approval, including that food from the fish is safe to eat,” said Bernadette Dunham, D.V.M., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine.

Since the FDA claims there is no biological difference between the “Frankenfish” and non-GMO salmon, Aquabounty is not required to label the genetically engineered fish.

The GGSA, a coalition including commercial and recreational salmon fishermen, businesses, restaurants, an Indian tribe, environmentalists, elected officials, families, and communities that rely on salmon, disagreed with the FDA’s claims that the “Frankenfish” is safe for people, the environment, and the fish itself.

“Genetically engineered salmon pose a serious potential threat to wild salmon stocks that our members rely on to make a living or fish for food and sport,” the group said in a statement. “In addition, GE salmon also pose a threat to salmon protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.”

The creator of the GE salmon, Aquabounty, claims the fish will be “sterile” and kept in closed tanks, but GGSA said reports suggest that as many as 5 percent would be fertile and able to reproduce or possibly hybridize with wild fish if they escaped into the wild. “No one knows if genetically engineered fish would spell the end for wild stocks if they escaped and hybridize but it’s not something any of us wants to find out,” said GGSA executive director John McManus. “History clearly shows that to date, farmed salmon have escaped every form of capture where they’ve been confined.”

McManus said the farming of salmon in general requires large amounts of wild forage fish for food, produces large volumes of waste that pollute waters near the salmon farms, and produces large volumes of parasites and pollution from drugs given farmed fish to combat parasites and other fish diseases.

Currently, California’s salmon industry is valued at $1.4 billion in economic activity annually and about half that much in economic activity and jobs again in Oregon, according to GGSA.

The Center for Food Safety announced plans to sue the FDA to block the agency’s approval for sale and consumption of the genetically engineered AquaAdvantage salmon. The suit will be filed in coordination with other plaintiffs. 

“The fallout from this decision will have enormous impact on the environment. Center for Food Safety has no choice but to file suit to stop the introduction of this dangerous contaminant,” said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of Center for Food Safety. “FDA has neglected its responsibility to protect the public.

“In approving the AquaBounty transgenic salmon, the FDA ignored millions of Americans and more than 40 members of Congress who have expressed vocal opposition. FDA also neglected the concerns of more than 300 environmental, consumer, health and animal welfare organizations, salmon and fishing groups and associations, food companies, chefs and restaurants,” he continued.

Approximately 2 million people filed public comments with the FDA in opposition to this action, the largest number of comments the FDA has ever received on an action, according to the center.

“The review process by FDA was inadequate, failed to fully examine the likely impacts of the salmon’s introduction, and lacked a comprehensive analysis. This decision sets a dangerous precedent, lowering the standards of safety in this country. CFS will hold FDA to their obligations to the American people,” said Kimbrell.

The center cited a study by Canadian researchers who found that genetically engineered Atlantic salmon can successfully cross-bred with brown trout, a closely related species common to areas surrounding both AquaBounty facilities, posing serious risks to wild populations that are already under duress.

Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, responded to the decision by stating, “This unfortunate, historic decision disregards the vast majority of consumers, many independent scientists, numerous members of Congress and salmon growers around the world, who have voiced strong opposition. 

“FDA’s decision also disregards AquaBounty’s disastrous environmental record, which greatly raises the stakes for an environmentally damaging escape of GMO salmon,” Hauter continued. “In recent years, AquaBounty facilities outside the United States have dealt with an accidental disease outbreak, an accident that lead to ‘lost’ salmon, and a $9,500 fine from Panamanian regulators who found the company in breach of that country’s environmental laws.”

In an action alert to members, Food and Water Watch also said, “Needless to say, we’re disappointed, but not surprised. The fact that the FDA made this call — despite the outcry from hundreds of thousands of concerned citizens like you — speaks to the immense pressure that the biotech industry put on them.”

The group said the targets in their campaign to stop Frankenfish from reaching the nation’s dinner tables are President Obama and Congress, who have the power to revoke the GMO salmon’s approval.

To sign a petition asking President Obama and your members of Congress to revoke the approval of GMO salmon, click here.

Caleen Sisk, chief and spiritual leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, sees the approval of genetically engineered salmon as a big threat to their culture and traditions.

“Salmon is in our traditional stories, songs and dances,” said Sisk. “We must stay pure to exist in the ancient circle connecting our tribal customs to salmon. The Winnemem Wintu have a right to protect salmon, and certainly not allow them to be genetically modified in anyway. They must not have their genes and DNA subject to exploring ideas.

“It must be recognized as an inherent right of Indigenous Peoples for the Winnemem Wintu to hold the salmon as a relative that is so intrinsic to our culture,” Sisk added. “There are complete ecosystems based on the clarity, knowledge and health of the salmon.”  

The Food and Drug Administration under the Obama administration, like the US Bureau of Reclamation, the California Department of Water Resources, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Conservation, is an agency that has been captured by the very corporate interests that it is supposed to regulate, critics say.

For example Michael Taylor, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, is a former Monsanto lobbyist who served as the vice president for Public Policy at the Monsanto Corporation from 1998 until 2001. 

The FDA’s approval of Frankenfish couldn’t come at a worse time for Central Valley and Klamath/Trinity River salmon. Both the Obama and Brown administrations are fast-tracking the so-called “California Water Fix” to build two massive delta tunnels, considered by many to be the most environmentally destructive public works project in California history.

Stories you shouldn’t miss:

1. Giant fissures in the foundation of the new Bay Bridge, which Caltrans decided to fill with industrial strength super glue, are allowing bay water to pour into the structure, thereby raising further concerns about its stability, the Chron reports. In 2007, Caltrans decided to use the glue to patch the fissures – some of which were ten feet wide – rather than replacing the structure, because the project was behind schedule. But the glue fix failed and water has been flowing into the foundation, and likely is corroding steel rods inside the structure.

2. The East Bay added 3,400 jobs in October as the region’s economy continued to surge, the Bay Area News Group$ reports. The Bay Area posted job gains of 17,300 for the month, while the state added 41,200 – twice as much as September.

3. Oakland city officials are declining to comment on an allegation by former Black Panthers leader Elaine Brown that she was assaulted by Councilmember Desley Brooks, the Chron reports. Police are investigating the incident, which reportedly took place on October 30 at Everett & Jones Barbecue in Oakland.


[jump] 4. California State University faculty have filed an unfair labor practices charge against the CSU administration, alleging bad faith bargaining, the LA Times$ reports. Rank-and-file faculty members have already approved a strike for next semester if instructors cannot reach a contract agreement with management.

5. And the E.coli outbreak at the Chipotle restaurant chain has extended to California and a total of six states, the AP reports (via Bay Area News Group$). The outbreak began last month in Chipotle outlets in Oregon and Washington.  

As world leaders prepare for the potentially historic UN Climate Talks in Paris, Bay Area activists are preparing for their own gathering this Saturday, November 21. The NorCal Climate Mobilization will call on governments to take “dramatic and rapid” action to protect the climate. The Oakland march and rally will be part of a worldwide series of demonstrations aimed at pressuring negotiators to ramp up their commitments on climate.

“We don’t expect [governments] to make adequate pledges without mass public pressure,” said rally organizer Steve Nadel of the Sunflower Alliance, which is part of the coalition of environmental and labor groups that initiated the mobilization. “Given the events in Paris, it now looks like the government there is going to ban demonstrations before and after the meeting,” he added, referring to the recent terrorist attacks. “That means it’s even more important for people outside France to be pressuring them to make the right decisions.”

[jump] Pressure is needed, Nadel said, because the level of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere has continued to rise despite the harmful effects of climate change already evident — drought, wildfires, superstorms, and more. “The UN conference that’s going on at the end of November is called COP [Council of Parties] 21. That means it’s 21 years since they first tried to come to an agreement on climate change in Kyoto. We’re running out of time. It’s increasingly urgent to take stronger action before we put too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.”

In defiance of the conservative jobs-versus-environment mantra, the labor councils of San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties have endorsed the event. In a letter sent to Alameda County union members, labor council executive director Josie Comacho urged them and their families to participate. “Our nation and world’s many poor and working families are disproportionately affected by climate change,” she wrote. “Unions must join with community and environmental activists to stop a world catastrophe.”

Another leader of the effort is Andres Soto, a lifelong Richmond resident and organizer with Communities for a Better Environment. He’s been fighting pollution from the Richmond Chevron refinery for years. “The Chevron refinery is the single largest greenhouse-gas emitting facility in California,” he said, “and thus a leading contributor to the degradation of the planet.” Besides demanding stronger action from governments, Soto said, “we’re doing our part locally by fighting oil trains and new refinery projects and demanding that the Bay Area Air Quality Management District impose some serious limits on refinery emissions.”

More than 100 organizations are sponsoring or have endorsed the demonstration and many dozens of volunteers have been working to publicize it by put up billboards in BART stations and buses and handing out fliers during rush hour. “Even the weather is going to align with us,” Nadel said. “We’re expecting a very large mobilization.”

Participants will gather in the morning at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater at the end of 11th Street. At noon, they’re schedule to march to Frank Ogawa Plaza for an afternoon including music, speakers, information tables, food vendors, and children’s activities.

The organizations participating in the mobilization have endorsed four key demands:

• A global agreement to implement dramatic and rapid reduction in global warming pollution
• A world united to repair the ravages of climate change
• A world with an economy that works for people and the planet
• A demilitarized world with peace and social justice for everyone; where Black Lives Matter; with justice and respect for immigrants and migrants; where good jobs, clean air and water, and healthy communities belong to all.

Stories you shouldn’t miss:

1. Save the Redwoods League, a nonprofit conservation group, has agreed to sponsor free admission to 49 state parks in California on Black Friday, NBC Bay Area reports. The donation was inspired by the decision by outdoor retailer REI to close on Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving — and urge its employees to spend time in nature. The free admission sponsorship was made available by an anonymous donor to Save the Redwoods League.

2. Berkeley is considering a new windfall profits tax on landlords of multi-unit buildings to raise funds for affordable housing in the city, the Trib$ reports. The proposal, authored by city councilmembers Jesse Arreguin and Laurie Capitelli, along with former city housing director Stephen Barton, would need voter approval to go into effect. Barton noted that Berkeley landlords are making big profits thanks to skyrocketing rents. The plan would raise between $4 million and $6 million a year.

3. Berkeley Councilmember Capitelli, meanwhile, has declared his candidacy for mayor next year, Berkeleyside reports. Arreguin has already announced that he plans to run for the office. Mayor Tom Bates is retiring.

[jump]
4. California is on track to end this fiscal year with an $11.5 billion surplus, thanks to higher than projected revenues, the Bay Area News Group$ reports, citing a new report from the state’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. The Brown administration has a long history of underestimating revenues.

5. The Board of Equalization, which collects tax revenues for the state, has mishandled funds, put money in the wrong accounts, and has failed to collect debts for the state, the LA Times$ reports, citing a new audit from state Controller Betty Yee.

6. And last month was extraordinarily hot — the hottest October, in fact, on record worldwide, and the average temperature during the month was the highest above normal ever recorded, the AP reports (h/t Rough & Tumble).

A loophole in Alameda’s recently passed 65-day moratorium on rent hikes and evictions was quickly exploited by at least one landlord to evict 33 families from their apartments. As a result, the Alameda City Council may close the loophole at its next meeting, City Hall sources said Wednesday.

The council is set to schedule an agenda item for the December 1 meeting to propose removing the provision in the ordinance passed two weeks ago that allows landlords to serve eviction notices for the purpose of making capital improvements to the property worth eight times the current rent. The agenda item will likely become public on Thursday.

Just days after the urgency ordinance was approved, renters at the 33-unit Bay View Apartments at 470 Central Avenue on the island’s West End, received 60-day eviction notices. The building’s new owners, San Jose-based Sridhar Equities, Inc. used the capital improvements provision to justify evicting all of the tenants in the building.

[jump] The city council may also attempt to nullify any eviction notices served during the moratorium using the just cause provision of the new law, said a source, although its legality is uncertain.

Residents of the Bay View Apartments say they were greeted on November 6 with a letter from Sridhar Equities cheerfully introducing themselves as the new owners. The next day, 60-day eviction notices were posted on their doors. An amended notice was posted November 11, pushing the eviction date to mid January.

Mike Sabo, 70, an 11-year resident of Bay View Apartments and a Vietnam War veteran said the notice was “like a spear through the heart.” It didn’t help that Salbo got the second notice on Veteran’s Day. “This isn’t right,” he added. “They came like a blitzkrieg.”

Romel Laguardia, 48, has lived at Bay View Apartments for five years with wife and three children, two of whom attend Paden Elementary located next door. He said residents are fearful about their future. “Believe me, all of us that day were speechless,” Laguardia said, describing the day residents received eviction notices.

During Tuesday night’s council meeting, a long line of children from the Bay View Apartments waited to address councilmembers over the issue. When the families returned to their apartments, they found another round of notices affixed to their doors notifying them of the owner’s intent to enter their units for the purpose of taking measurements for unspecified improvements.

Stories you shouldn’t miss:

1. In a move backed by local businesses but strongly opposed by advocates for the homeless, the Berkeley City Council early this morning voted 6-3 to approve a set of new rules targeting street behavior, the Trib$ reports. The new rules include a ban on urinating and defecating in public and taking up more than two square feet of space on a sidewalk with personal belongings. The council also voted to move forward with a plan to increase the number of public bathrooms and to create storage bins for homeless people — but did not allocate funds to do so.

2. Mary King, a former Alameda County supervisor and ex-general manager of AC Transit, has died of a chronic illness, the Trib$ reports. She was 69. In 1988, King was the first African-American woman elected to the board of supervisors, and was reelected two times and served as president of the board. She was known for her advocacy for low-income residents and social services and for working to improve local transportation and protect open space.

3. The Oakland City Council agreed to pay $37,000 to settle a lawsuit over the city’s decision last year to close the balcony of the council chambers and block citizens from attending council meetings, the Chron reports. The suit was filed by the public employee union, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 21. The city closed the balcony after demonstrators took over a council meeting last spring to protest the illegal sale of public land near Lake Merritt to a luxury housing developer.


[jump] 4. The Alameda County Coroner’s Office has concluded that an Oakland man who was found wedged between a building and fence after being chased by police died of asphyxia, the Trib$ reports. The coroner’s report also substantiated police claims that Richard Linyard, 23, did not die as a result of a struggle with officers.

5. And Berkeley residents reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 9 percent between 2000 and 2013, thanks in part to solar-panel installations on homes, the Trib$ reports, citing a new city-commissioned study. However, the study warned that Berkeley “is not on pace to achieve the goals of its voter-approved Climate Action Plan, which calls for emissions to be reduced from 2000 levels by 33 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.”