Editorial: Consumers should know whether fish genetically altered

The adage “you are what you eat” takes on a curious meaning if what you are eating happens to be genetically engineered salmon.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled recently that salmon genetically engineered to grow faster and bigger are perfectly safe to eat. That may be — but consumers ought to know what they are eating. The fish should be labeled.

Genetically modified food is hard to avoid. Wheat, corn, soybeans and other staples have been modified for years to resist disease or to produce better yields. The benefits are obvious, plus creating meatier fish quicker could conceivably — far into the future — help the world’s food supply.

Right now the genetically engineered salmon will be produced on a small scale, by one company, AquaBounty Technologies based in Massachusetts, at hatchery tanks in Canada and Panama. Here’s how the genetic engineering works: Salmon eggs will be injected with the genetic material of a bottom-feeding fish, the ocean pout, to enhance growth.

Scientists at the FDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture and elsewhere say the method is safe for humans and for the environment. The fish will be sterile, so that even if any should escape the tank they would not disrupt the eco-system.

Even so, it is a leap to go from genetically modified plants to animals — and the salmon should be labeled so consumers know what they are buying.

Connecticut was a leader in food labeling. In December, 2013 Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a bill — the first in the nation — requiring GMO (genetically modified organisms) labels on food sold in the state. But the requirement would not be effective until at least four other states, and in the Northeast any group of states with a combined population of at least 20 million, adopted such legislation. Malloy at the time called the act the start of a national movement. Maine and Vermont followed.

But Congress is trying to overrule the states. In July the House of Representatives approved “The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015,” which would create a federal standard for GMO labeling — voluntarily. The states’ mandatory laws are unnecessary, they argued, because the FDA says GMOs are safe.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat representing Connecticut, said last week he would lead legislation in the Senate for “clear, consistent and mandatory labeling of genetically engineered food.” That is the right approach.

Consumers look on milk cartons to see whether the milk is from cows given antibiotics, and they examine meat labels to see whether cattle were given growth hormones or were grass fed. Consumers make choices — informed choices.

You are what you eat: Food repairs and replenishes every cell in your body. People have the right to know whether that food is genetically engineered.