A genetically-modified plant that produces seeds packed with fish oils is set to be grown in open fields in the UK within months, scientists announced on Friday [24 January 2014]. The oils could provide feed for farmed fish, the researchers hope, but they could ultimately be used as a health supplement in human foods such as margarine.
Fish oils – specifically omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids – have been shown to cut the risk of cardiovascular disease and are a popular food supplement. But about 80% of the fish oil harvested from the oceans every year is actually fed to other fish being raised in aquaculture. With many fish stocks already over-exploited, the government-funded researchers from Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire have spent 15 years developing the new GM plant and hope to have permission for field trials by March, with planting to start shortly after if approval is given.
Read the full, original article: Fish oil could soon come from GM crop
Additional Resources:
- “GM crops could help to solve the problem of over-fishing,” Independent
- “GM plants could yield same amount of omega-3s as fish,” United Press International
- “GMO plants could be ‘green factories’ for vital omega-3 fish oils,” Rothamsted Research
