Genetic engineering has been a growing field since the 19th century. In the United States today, “Genetically Modified Organisms” are regulated under the 1986 Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology. As stated in the Library of Congress legal topic report on the subject “the enforcement of GMO regulation is pursuant to the existing statutory authority regulating conventional products, with a focus on the nature of the products rather than the process in which they are produced.” Therefore the United States has not currently created any federal legislation pertaining to GMO’s and has opted to regulate GMO’s in the same fashion as conventional products. As an example GMO pesticides and microorganisms are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, while GMO plants are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The three main agencies involved in regulating GMOs are the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Also until the introduction of Senate bill 809 of the 113th congress otherwise known as the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act, food products containing genetically modified organisms were not even required to disclose the GMO ingredients on the product packaging. Since they are regulated under the same …show more content…
Animal rights activist and religious groups object to the idea of “playing God” and imposing our will on God’s creatures. In their mind this phenomenon is akin to creating Frankenstein-esque plants and animals as well as a total violation of the laws of nature. In fact in November 2003 the Vatican held a two-day conference on genetically modified organisms with a discussion of the moral implications of tinkering with creation by splicing genes to make new plants and animals. While GMO plants and animals have the capacity to remedy problems such as world hunger, they also come at a moral cost. Moral objection of GMOs is mostly aimed at the prospect of genetically engineered animals. The reason for this is that in society animals are considered closer to human beings than plants are and require more consideration and protection. For this reason as well as others the FDA is stalling the approval of genetically engineered salmon for human