Can transgenic fish be placed on the dining table?

Newspaper reporter Pan Xi

“I have been working for nearly 30 years. Regardless of traditional breeding or crossbreeding, when all the research work is done in the evaluation, there is no “high threshold” for genetically modified organisms.” The new theory of the new viewpoint of the 59th China Association for Science and Technology was recently held. At the academic salon, Wang Qingyin, director of the Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, said.
The theme of this salon is "Development Opportunities and Challenges for GM Aquatic Animals and Plants." Three months ago, the White House’s "a ban on papers" once again shredded scientists' "dreams" about genetically modified salmon for human consumption.
In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been hesitant to agree to the use of genetically modified salmon for human consumption. But the fact is that it has not yet become the first transgenic animal approved for human consumption in the world.
What scientists do not understand is that by 2010, 81% of the world's soybeans, 64% of cotton, 29% of corn, and 23% of rape are genetically modified foods. Why are genetically modified animals trying to put on the table? Effortless?
The devil or the angel Wang Qingyin said that genetic modification has passed the most stringent tests, but it is still not recognized by most people.
Some scientists believe that the United States' concerns are not without reason. Genetically modified fish are much larger than ordinary fish. If this species escapes into the natural world and lives freely, they can easily obtain mating advantages and also compete with wild fish for food and space, thereby destroying the originally relatively stable ecological balance in nature.
In fact, this problem scientists have long thought of.
On the day before the meeting, Zhu Zuoyan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also made a special trip to visit his "genetically modified squid" experimental farm in Zhengzhou. "Five months, this group of fishes grow very fast and their bodies are very beautiful, and they are very similar to the Yellow River carp." In the picture shown by Zhu Zuoyi, the transgenic salmon of the same age looks twice as big as the common carp.
Over the past few years, Zhu Zuoyan has collaborated with Liu Shaojun, a professor at Hunan Normal University, to make triploids for genetically modified carp infertility and named it “863 Jixi”. "They are infertile and will not pose an ecological threat after they reach the natural environment. If you are interested, I can let everyone taste it for you."
Zhu Zuoyan said that they had conducted very rigorous food inspections on genetically modified salmon, “equivalent to national standards for the safety testing of a new class of drugs,” conducting detailed examinations of histochemistry in all 12 tissues and organs, and conducting genetic inheritance and physiological and biochemical indicators. Strictly check, "No other problems were found, the same as normal squid."
However, the community’s attitude towards genetically modified foods is still a “one-shot veto”. If the "transgene" is entered as a keyword in a search engine, more than 90% of the results will be negatively evaluated for the transgene.
"Remember that at an academic conference, some experts told me that you are good at genetically modified fish and say that the devil is the devil." Zhang Peijun, a researcher at the Institute of Oceanography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, is outspoken. In fact, most scientists who do genetic research have This confusion: If the community has always rejected genetic modification, all of their contributions are "white hard".
What scientists can do “About the issue of genetic safety, we use genetic modification to produce the same fine varieties as the hybrids. In the natural world, the survival of the fittest and good genes will be well maintained.” Researcher, Heilongjiang Fisheries Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences Sun Xiaowen believes that the huge advantage of economic traits is the advantage of transgenic fish breaking "containment".
In fact, in the 1960s and 1970s, the first academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tong Zizhou, pioneered the cloning of fish in the world. However, with the death of Tong Zhi Zhou, similar work has become history.
Zhu Zuoyan pointed to a photograph and said: “This is a genetically modified carp that was bred in the Netherlands in 1998. It has grown to 2.7 kg in 5 months and it has grown to 4 kg in 6 months. But like the 920 kg of rice produced per mu, it is not able to General promotion.” Zhu Zuoyan believes that if the genetically modified fish is to be cultivated in large areas, its conditions will be very harsh.
The ecological safety of genetically modified fish is an important issue that scientists must consider. “Erotic individuals of transgenic fishes are escaping and will inevitably have genetic exchanges with their homologous or closely related species. Transgenic fish that are infertile cannot also guarantee 100% infertility.” Sun Xiaowen said.
Correspondingly, an advisory group in the United States stated that in 2010 it had been proved that the consumption of genetically modified salmon was safe, but more studies were needed before the table was provided to consumers.
Therefore, Zhu Qiyan did not propose the use of genetically modified carp as a food product in spite of the qualified monitoring indicators. Zhu Zuoyan also admitted that "genetically modified fish may cause ecological security problems."
"As a scientist, it is better to go back and fish than to go to the sea." Wang Qingyin's words may represent the views of some genetically modified researchers. "Society has concerns about genetically modified foods, and genetically modified products are easily accepted by consumers. They can do genetic modification." Ornamental fish."
In the view of scientists in the transgenic field, despite many articles published, many studies are still lacking. "The integration mechanism, evaluation and safety of genetically modified fishes are relatively small. It is not enough to convince people. We must strengthen basic research and make technical reserves," said Zhu Zuoyan.