9 GMOs that may soon be approved
Oxitec Mosquito
Recent news that Oxitec, a UK-based biotech company, submitted a petition to the FDA to release genetically engineered mosquitoes into Florida has environmental advocacy groups up in arms. "The FDA has not made the NADA for the GE mosquito available to the public, even despite multiple Freedom of Information Act requests," says Genna Reed, researcher for the Food and Water Watch.
In a nutshell, Oxitec's genetically altered, sterile male mosquitoes would be released to mate with wild females—the offspring wouldn't survive long enough to transmit dengue fever.
In a letter to the FDA, Food and Water Watch executive director Winona Hauter wrote: "The sparse information that is publicly available about the organism indicates that it poses a serious risk to the environment and public health."