00         SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 28(RES)                                                        
01 Opposing the United States Food and Drug Administration's approval of AquaBounty                                        
02 AquAdvantage genetically engineered salmon; urging the United States Congress to                                        
03 enact legislation that requires prominently labeling genetically engineered products with                               
04 the words "Genetically Modified" on the product's packaging; and urging the United                                      
05 States Congress and the United States Food and Drug Administration to classify the                                      
06 state as Tier IV for purposes of administering and funding consideration under the Food                                 
07 Safety Modernization Act.                                                                                               
08 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
09       WHEREAS, on November 19, 2015, the United States Food and Drug Administration                                   
10 approved AquaBounty AquAdvantage genetically engineered salmon as safe for human                                        
11 consumption; and                                                                                                        
12       WHEREAS the approval is the first time in history that the United States Food and                               
13 Drug Administration has approved a genetically engineered animal for human consumption;                                 
14 and                                                                                                                     

01       WHEREAS a large majority of state residents oppose the approval of genetically                                  
02 engineered salmon by the United States Food and Drug Administration; and                                                
03       WHEREAS more than 2,000,000 Americans opposed the United States Food and                                        
04 Drug Administration's approval of genetically engineered salmon in the largest number of                                
05 comments the United States Food and Drug Administration has ever received on an action;                                 
06 and                                                                                                                     
07       WHEREAS more than 65 retailers, including Costco, Safeway, and Target, have                                     
08 announced that they have no plans to sell genetically modified salmon; and                                              
09       WHEREAS more than 40 members of the United States Congress have expressed                                       
10 opposition to the approval of AquaBounty AquAdvantage genetically engineered salmon; and                                
11       WHEREAS the state has bountiful fisheries that provide wild, natural, and sustainable                           
12 seafood; and                                                                                                            
13       WHEREAS the accidental release of transgenic fish into the wild could devastate                                 
14 native fish populations and ecosystems; and                                                                             
15       WHEREAS a May 2013 McGill University research report detailed findings                                          
16 demonstrating interbreeding between genetically modified salmon and brown trout could                                   
17 occur, suggesting that the potential for similar hybridization between other closely related                            
18 species could pose risks for wild populations, including wild salmon; and                                               
19       WHEREAS the research demonstrated that transgenic hybrid salmon can outcompete                                  
20 with both wild salmon and genetically modified salmon, making hybridization relevant to risk                            
21 assessments; and                                                                                                        
22       WHEREAS, each year, thousands of salmon escape from open water net pens into the                                
23 Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, demonstrating that escapement is a serious threat to wild fish                             
24 populations; and                                                                                                        
25       WHEREAS the AquaBounty facility on Prince Edward Island is producing                                            
26 genetically engineered fish eggs and sits adjacent to a water body that is directly connected to                        
27 the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Atlantic Ocean; and                                                                   
28       WHEREAS the proximity of the AquaBounty facility to the Saint Lawrence Seaway                                   
29 and the Atlantic Ocean puts wild Atlantic salmon, which are listed under the Endangered                                 
30 Species Act, at risk; and                                                                                               
31       WHEREAS the long-term human health effects of consuming genetically engineered                                  

01 salmon are unknown; and                                                                                                 
02       WHEREAS the state's transportation and logistical challenges, including a lack of                               
03 road connectivity, result in geographic and funding obstacles to complying with the Food                                
04 Safety Modernization Act; and                                                                                           
05       WHEREAS the state is currently classified as Tier V, the lowest classification for                              
06 purposes of appropriation under and administration of the Food Safety Modernization Act;                                
07       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes the United States Food                                 
08 and Drug Administration's approval of AquaBounty AquAdvantage genetically engineered                                    
09 salmon; and be it                                                                                                       
10       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                    
11 Congress to enact legislation that requires prominently labeling genetically engineered                                 
12 products, including AquaBounty AquAdvantage genetically engineered salmon, with the                                     
13 words "Genetically Modified" on the product's packaging, as required by state law; and be it                            
14       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                      
15 Congress and the United States Food and Drug Administration to classify the state as Tier IV                            
16 for purposes of administering and funding consideration under the Food Safety Modernization                             
17 Act.                                                                                                                    
18       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
19 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
20 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of                                     
21 Agriculture; Robert M. Califf, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs; and the Honorable                                  
22 Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don                                     
23 Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.