If you ask only wrong questions, you never get right answers.

OVERVIEW: SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY: HIDDEN THREAT TO ORGANICS

Abstract Presented to the Organic World Congress, 2024

Old GMOs haphazardly mutated the genetic expression of seed genomes, from which certain cultivars were selected for propagation. New Synthetic Biology is a set of technologies used to create and manipulate the base pairs of DNA to generate specific projected traits and behaviors in organisms that may result in substances and downstream traits and behaviors that have never before been present in natural systems. The novel traits and behaviors are further deployed within various collateral processes to create materials that can be commercialized for profit, such as pharmaceuticals, foods, crops, fertilizers, pesticides, microorganisms, fungi, polymers, etc.

However, many of the resulting materials are being introduced into the food, feed, and fiber supply chain without notice, consent, or disclosure. The global organic community thus faces the risk of accidentally and unintentionally deploying bioengineered materials that may undermine organic integrity. Furthermore, nearly all these technologies and techniques are proprietary, resulting in the risk of patent infringement and significant licensing costs. Synthetic biology can create ongoing co-dependence, which a farmer or farm community may have difficulty regaining sovereignty.

The hidden threat to organic agriculture is that the methods by which synthetic biology is being introduced are not obvious and the consequences are not measurable. In one example of many, a novel microorganism placed into a “broken” soil biome to “fix” it may not be disclosed, may not be labeled,  may not be identified, may not be tested, may not have a reliable laboratory identification protocol, and, in any case, will continue to evolve and adapt in ways its creators cannot imagine.

Similarly, foliar applications of novel synthetic substances may be designed to trigger novel genetic expression in a target plant or vector, with unknown and non-self-limiting outcomes. Synthetic biology expressly acts outside of the balanced biological controls that exist in natural ecosystems, which is the antithesis of the prime organic/agroecological principle of working within the natural dynamics of the energy, nutrient, and water cycles.

The global synthetic biology industry believes organic is “broken” and believes it is being called to “fix” organic agriculture by introducing its novel materials and organisms. The technology is driven by complex artificial intelligence and machine learning models that are themselves uncontrollable and considered highly suspect. This presentation will describe the mostly likely biotech strategies and contaminants, using thorough research and up-to the-minute market surveillance — and suggest how to identify and avoid them. We will also describe the unbridled venture-driven ideology of synthetic biology and present effective ways to avoid and counter its reductionist solutions.