Get a load of that salmon’s size. If we didn’t know better, we’d think it was on human growth hormones, like some athlete trying to gain an edge. Actually, something like that has come to pass. A salmon- farming concern is angling with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market a genetically engineered salmon.
Take our quiz on the so- called “Frankenfish” and other genetically engineered foods.
1. To build a better salmon, scientists spliced into the DNA of Atlantic salmon a growth-hormone gene from which specimen?
a) Rainbow trout
b) Chinook salmon
c) Barry Bonds
2. Scientists also injected some of the genetic code of a fish called the ocean pout into the super salmon for what purpose?
a) To excrete an antifreeze-type substance so the fish could thrive in cold water.
b) To make the tissue of the salmon more fibrous and hence less flaky when cooked.
c) To increase the growth rate of the salmon fivefold over standard farmed salmon.
3. In response to an FDA analysis, some experts feared that the super salmon might cause what medical condition in sensitive people?
a) Gout
b) Dangerous liver enzymes
c) Allergies
4. Kevin Wells, a professor of animal science at the University of Missouri, tried to quell worries about the Frankenfish by telling the New York Times …
a) “Everything here is something we eat.”
b) “No, it doesn’t have three eyes.”
c) “I’ve tried it, and it kind of tastes like chicken.”
5. According to the Center for Food Safety, what percentage of processed foods found at a supermarket (crackers to soda to ketchup) contain genetically engineered ingredients?
a) 42.7 percent
b) 50 percent
c) 75 percent
Answers to the left
Sources: ; the New York Times;
