What if the food you're eating right now isn't what you thought it was? Instead of being cultivated like other food, taking a certain amount of time or growing only during certain seasons, it has been genetically modified to grow faster and without any consideration of the season. This concept, as far-fetched as it may seem, isn't all that far-fetched with the production of genetically modified salmon attempting to make its way into our fishing markets and grocery stores today. This process has been going on for almost 20 years, both on crops and animals, however, GM salmon will be the first commercial GM food animal to hit the American market. However, with first-mover questions like “what is the difference between the salmon currently on the market and the genetically modified ones and is it harmful or harmless?” Most of the foods we consume in grocery stores are products of artificial selection in which humans raise together selected animals or plants based on their desirable characteristics that we consider useful and beneficial. However, genetically modifying a food is a completely different process. For GM salmon, scientists are inserting the growth gene from Pacific Chinook salmon and an oceanic Pout turn-on gene into the fertilized eggs of Atlantic salmon (“Clarified: What doesn't,” 2010). The Pacific Chinook growth genes will allow the genetically modified salmon to reach its full adult size in half the time, while the Pout Ocean activation gene will allow it to grow during the winter and summer months ("Clarified: What it does," 2010). Ultimately, instead of waiting about 36 months to reach the eight-pound market weight, we would wait just 18 months, allowing the GM salmon...... middle of paper......01/09/20 /salmon -genetically-modified/Dispatch: the FDA intervenes. (September 7, 2010). Retrieved from http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.1828/news_detail.aspZajac, A. (2010, August 14). Genetically modified salmon under FDA review. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/14/business/la-fi-super-salmon-20100814Zajac, A. (2010, September 22). No imminent agreement on salmon labeling. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/22/nation/la-na-salmon-fda-20100922Zhu, J. (2010, March 4). Countries differ regarding their laws on genetically modified foods. Retrieved from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-03/04/content_9534295.htm Zohar, Y. (2010, September 22). Genetically modified salmon is suitable for the table. Retrieved from articles.cnn.com/2010-09-22/opinion/zohar.genetically.engineered.salmon_1_fish-and-seafood-wild-stocks-wild-atlantic-salmon/2?_s=PM:OPINION6