CSHJR 8(RES): Urging the United States Food and Drug Administration to deny any application to sell genetically engineered salmon in the United States; urging compliance with the provision of P.L. 110-85 (Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007) that requires the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to consult with the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regarding a report on environmental risks associated with genetically engineered seafood products; and urging that product labeling requirements include the words "Genetically Modified" prominently displayed on the front of the package if the application is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration.
00 CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 8(RES) 01 Urging the United States Food and Drug Administration to deny any application to sell 02 genetically engineered salmon in the United States; urging compliance with the 03 provision of P.L. 110-85 (Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007) that 04 requires the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to consult with the National Marine 05 Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regarding a 06 report on environmental risks associated with genetically engineered seafood products; 07 and urging that product labeling requirements include the words "Genetically 08 Modified" prominently displayed on the front of the package if the application is 09 approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. 10 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 11 WHEREAS an application has been submitted to the United States Food and Drug 12 Administration to market genetically engineered salmon for human consumption in the United 13 States; and
01 WHEREAS this is the first genetically engineered animal intended to be used as food 02 in the United States; and 03 WHEREAS a biological opinion issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife 04 Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 05 Administration to the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 2003 expresses concerns that 06 transgenic salmon would threaten and adversely affect wild Atlantic salmon, currently on the 07 Endangered Species List; and 08 WHEREAS federal agencies are required by 16 U.S.C. 1536(a) (sec. 7 of the 09 Endangered Species Act) to consult with fisheries agencies when an action may affect a 10 protected species; and 11 WHEREAS the applicant proposes fertilization and incubation on Prince Edward 12 Island, Canada, and shipment of the eyed-eggs to Panama for grow-out and processing, all 13 processes that would occur outside the jurisdiction of the United States; and 14 WHEREAS the applicant has already bred and produced transgenic salmon and 15 shipped them for commercial market tests; and 16 WHEREAS the applicant proposes shipment of processed fish to the United States for 17 retail sale; and 18 WHEREAS the proposed activities pose a threat to wild salmon in the Pacific 19 Northwest and Alaska; and 20 WHEREAS genetically engineered fish has not been the subject of thorough scientific 21 research and testing to ensure that its consumption by humans is safe in the long term; and 22 WHEREAS many consumers of wild salmon purchase the product for its widely 23 recognized health benefits, and lack of testing could weaken consumer confidence in all 24 salmon products; and 25 WHEREAS the state's wild seafood industry, which is extremely important to the 26 state and local economies, could be severely affected by the sale of genetically engineered 27 salmon; 28 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States Food 29 and Drug Administration to deny any application to sell genetically engineered salmon in the 30 United States; and be it 31 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges compliance with the
01 provision of P.L. 110-85 (Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007) that 02 requires the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to "consult with the Assistant Administrator of 03 the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 04 Administration to produce a report on any environmental risks associated with genetically 05 engineered seafood products, including the impact on wild fish stocks"; and be it 06 FURTHER RESOLVED that, if the application is approved by the United States 07 Food and Drug Administration despite strong environmental and human health concerns, 08 product labeling requirements should include the words "Genetically Modified" prominently 09 displayed on the front of the package. 10 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 11 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 12 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of 13 Representatives; the Honorable Timothy F. Geithner, United States Secretary of the Treasury; 14 the Honorable Tom Vilsack, United States Secretary of Agriculture; Margaret A. Hamburg, 15 M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, United States Food and Drug Administration; and 16 the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the 17 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.