Explaining that “tropical aquarium fish are not used for food purposes” and “pose no threat to the food supply,” the US Food and Drug Administration opted not to regulate GloFish™, ornamental fish that have been genetically modified to glow in the dark. (Don Thompson, “FDA won’t bar first biotech pet from the market,” Associated Press, Dec. 9 (via whittierdailynews.com); Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler, “Want aquarium flair? GloFish,” St. Petersburg Times Online, Dec. 27 (via www.poynter.org),”FDA statement regarding Glofish,” Dec. 9).

Unhappy with this decision, the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Food Safety promptly announced plans to file a lawsuit against the FDA to force it to exercise its alleged regulatory authority over household pets. “It’s a precedent and it’s one that we want to stop,” a Center spokesman explained, in a remarkable slippery slope argument to support the proposed lawsuit. “Having the Glo-Fish™ out on the market ushers in a new era where we are going to have untested, unregulated, genetically engineered animals as fads, as pets, as food supply. And I don’t think anyone should go down that road.” (“GLO-FISH,” KTVI Fox2 News).

Filed under: environment