The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved genetically modified salmon, the first such altered animal allowed for human consumption in the United States.
美國食品藥品管理局周四批準了轉基因三文魚被人類食用。批準轉基因動物食用在美國尚屬首次。

The Obama administration had stalled in approving the fast-growing salmon for more than five years amid consumer concerns about eating genetically modified foods. But the agency said Thursday the fish is safe to eat.
奧巴馬政府五年多以來一直未能批準快速增長的轉基因三文魚上市，因為消費者一直擔心食用轉基因食品是否安全。但本周四，食品藥品監督管理局已經明確了，轉基因三文魚可以安全食用。

In announcing the approval, the FDA said that there are "no biologically relevant differences in the nutritional profile of AquAdvantage Salmon compared to that of other farm-raised Atlantic salmon."
食品藥品管理局表示，AquAdvantage三文魚（美國AquaBounty技術公司的研究人員將大西洋三文魚、太平洋奇努克三文魚以及大洋鱈魚三種魚進行基因雜交改造，培育出來的一種全新三文魚品種）與其他農場養殖的大西洋三文魚的營養含量沒什么生物區別。

AquAdvantage Salmon was created by the Massachusetts-based company AquaBounty. Ron Stotish, the company's CEO, said in a statement that the fish is a "game changer that brings healthy and nutritious food to consumers in an environmentally responsible manner without damaging the ocean and other marine habitats."
馬薩諸塞州公司AquaBounty培育了AquAdvantage這一三文魚品種。該公司CEO羅恩·斯拖提希在一次聲明中表示，該品種三文魚是一個革命者，它將給消費者帶來健康營養的食物，并且承擔起環境責任，不損害海洋及海洋生物。

The fish grows twice as fast as normal salmon, so it reaches market size more quickly. It has an added growth hormone from the Pacific Chinook salmon that allows the fish to produce growth hormone all year long. The engineers were able to keep the hormone active by using another gene from an eel-like fish called an ocean pout that acts like an "on" switch for the hormone. Typical Atlantic salmon produce the growth hormone for only part of the year.
這種魚的生長速度是普通三文魚的兩倍，能更快速地上市。它體內含有從太平洋奇努克三文魚身上提取的激素，可以使之一整年不斷產生生長激素。工程師用另一種類似鰻魚的大洋鱈魚基因保持生長激素的活躍，促進AquAdvantage三文魚生長。普通三文魚一年內只有部分時間產生生長激素。

The FDA has also said the fish is unlikely to harm the environment. The fish would be bred female and sterile, though a very small percentage might still be able to breed. The company has argued the potential for escape is low.
食品藥品管理局表示該魚種損害環境的可能性很低。只養殖了雌魚和絕育魚，僅有一小部分仍能繁殖。該公司稱流入自然的可能性很低。

There is no evidence that the foods would be unsafe, but for some people, it's an ethical issue.
沒有證據證明這種魚不安全，但部分人認為這是個道德問題。

Some retailers have pledged not to sell the salmon, and it's still unclear whether the public will have an appetite for the fish if it is approved. Genetic engineering is already widely used for crops, but the government until now has not considered allowing the consumption of modified animals. Although the potential benefits and profits are huge, many people have qualms about manipulating the genetic code of other living creatures.
部分經銷商承諾不銷售這個品種，且批準后這種魚是否為大眾所接受還不得而知?；蚬こ桃呀浽谵r作物上大規模應用，但政府直到現在才考慮允許轉基因動物的消費。雖然利益和利潤極大，許多人對于操縱改變其他生物遺傳密碼的行為感到不安。

Critics call the modified salmon a "frankenfish." They worry that it could cause human allergies and the eventual decimation of the natural salmon population if it escapes and breeds in the wild. Others believe breeding engineered animals is an ethical issue.
批評者將這種轉基因三文魚稱為“科學怪魚”（美國一部恐怖電影名）他們擔心造成人類過敏，且一旦流入自然后繁殖，造成天然三文魚的滅絕。還有人認為繁殖轉基因動物是不道德的。

Vocabulary

qualm: 疑慮；不安
decimation: 大量毀滅

英文來源：赫芬頓郵報
譯者：劉傳坤
審校&編輯：丹妮