What if the food you're eating right now isn't what you thought it was? Instead of being grown like the rest of your food, taking a certain amount of time or only growing during certain seasons, it has been genetically engineered to grow faster and without any consideration of season. This concept, as far-fetched as it may seem, is not so far-fetched after all, given the production of genetically modified salmon that is now trying to make its way into our fisherman's markets and grocery stores. This process has been going on for almost 20 years and applies to both crops and animals. However, genetically modified salmon will be the first commercial GM food animal to hit the U.S. market. However, questions such as "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 eat in grocery stores are artificially bred products in which humans breed animals or plants selected together because of their desirable characteristics that we view as useful and beneficial. However, genetically modifying a food is a completely different process. For genetically modified salmon, scientists insert the growth gene from Pacific Chinook salmon and an activation gene from ocean pout into fertilized Atlantic salmon eggs (“Clarified: What Does It,” 2010). Growth genes from Pacific Chinooks will allow the genetically modified salmon to reach adult size in half the time, while the activation gene from Ocean Pout will allow it to grow during the winter and summer months. summer (“Clarified: What Does It Mean,” 2010). Ultimately, instead of waiting about 36 months to reach their commercial weight of eight pounds, we would only wait 18 months, allowing GM salmon...... middle of paper ......010 /09/20 /genetically modified-salmon/Shipping: FDA intervenes. (September 7, 2010). Retrieved from http://www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.1828/news_detail.aspZajac, A. (August 14, 2010). Genetically modified salmon under FDA review. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/14/business/la-fi-super-salmon-20100814Zajac, A. (September 22, 2010). No imminent agreement on salmon labeling. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/22/nation/la-na-salmon-fda-20100922 Zhu, J. (2010, March 4). Countries differ on laws regarding genetically modified foods. Retrieved from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2010-03/04/content_9534295.htm Zohar, Y. (September 22, 2010). Genetically modified salmon is good for the table. Retrieved from articles.cnn.com/2010-09-22/opinion/zohar.geneically.engineered.salmon_1_fish-and-seafood-wild-stocks-wild-atlantic-salmon/2?_s=PM:OPINION6