---
title: "You Can Now Buy Genetically Engineered Salmon in Canada"
description: "The first genetically modified (GM) salmon has finally hit the supermarket shelves in Canada after years of opposition and delays."
date: "2017-08-12"
modified: "2017-08-12"
authors:
  - name: "Christianna Reedy"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/christianna"
url: "https://futurism.com/you-can-now-buy-genetically-engineered-salmon-in-canada"
categories:
  - "Future Society"
tags:
  - "aquabounty technologies"
  - "aquadvantage salmon"
  - "gm foods"
  - "gm salmon"
---

# You Can Now Buy Genetically Engineered Salmon in Canada

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/sockeye-492258_1920.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://pixabay.com/en/sockeye-salmon-kenai-fish-wild-492258/" target="\_blank"\>Pixabay\</a\>\</em\>*

## GM Salmon In Stores

After 25 years of pushback from environmentalists and various controversies, genetically modified (GM) salmon have at last [made it to shelves](<https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/08/04/1079857/0/en/AquaBounty-Technologies-Inc-Results-for-the-second-quarter-and-first-half-ended-June-30-2017.html>) on the Canadian marketplace. [AquaBounty Technologies](<https://aquabounty.com/>) has sold [approximately five tons](<https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/08/04/1079857/0/en/AquaBounty-Technologies-Inc-Results-for-the-second-quarter-and-first-half-ended-June-30-2017.html>) of “AquAdvantage Salmon” in Canada since its approval there last year. Although the fish were [cleared by the FDA](<https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm472487.htm>) in late 2015, conflicts about labeling the fillets have stalled sales in the U.S.

The Maynard, Massachusetts company is the force bringing the GM Atlantic salmon to market. The salmon boast two extra genes that [allow them to grow faster](<https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/GeneticEngineering/GeneticallyEngineeredAnimals/ucm473238.htm>): a chinook salmon growth hormone gene that speeds their growth, and a gene from the ocean pout that keeps the chinook growth hormone gene “on” permanently. The end result of these changes is that the engineered AquAdvantage Salmon grow two times faster than typical salmon while consuming [20 to 25 percent less food](<https://aquabounty.com/sustainable/>).

![Image Credit: AquaBounty Technologies](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/salmon-1200x600.jpg>)
*Image Credit: AquaBounty Technologies*

These AquAdvantage Salmon are the first GM animal in the world to go on sale. As such, the product has garnered [serious opposition](<https://www.newscientist.com/article/2143151-genetically-engineered-salmon-goes-on-sale-for-the-first-time/>) from environmental groups. Beyond the labeling issue, these opponents fear that the fish pose [a contamination risk](<http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/press-releases/4317/lawsuit-challenges-fdas-approval-of-genetically-engineered-salmon#>) to natural populations should they escape from their breeding tanks. However, as the fish are rendered sterile, and the FDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have inspected the facility and judged its [containment measures](<https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/DevelopmentApprovalProcess/GeneticEngineering/GeneticallyEngineeredAnimals/ucm473238.htm>) to be adequate.

## Controversy Over GM Foods

The fiery opposition to GM foods is no surprise. Although a [comprehensive analysis](<https://futurism.com/science-gmo-food-evolution>) from 2016 penned by 20 scientists and based on more than 1,000 studies, testimony from 80 witnesses in public meetings and webinars, and 700 comments submitted by the public found that GM crops are safe to eat and do not harm the environment, many in the public remain unconvinced. Meanwhile, farmers in India are beginning to plant [GM mustard crops](<https://futurism.com/science-gmo-food-evolution>), and scientists are working to prove the safety of [wheat “supercrops.”](<https://futurism.com/feeding-the-world-genetically-modified-superwheat-is-transforming-our-future>)

Stranger examples of GM organisms (GMOs) have been making the news recently, such as the [GM surrogate hens](<https://futurism.com/genetically-modified-surrogate-hens-could-save-a-species>) being tested in the hopes they'll be able to save rare species of poultry from extinction, and the [Impossible Foods meatless burger,](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/the-fda-has-reservations-about-impossible-foods-meatless-burger>) which has only recently run into a snag at the FDA concerning not its GM status, but its potential to act as an allergen.

The real breakthrough for products like AquAdvantage Salmon might be time and short consumer memory. As the salmon continues to sell successfully in Canada, other species may join it on the market's shelves.