Synthetic biology: a form of GMOs called ‘natural’
Non-GMO and GMO-Breeding for Plants
In addition to threats posed by the increasing amounts of genetically modified organism (GMO) crops, there is another threat, known as synthetic biology:
New Form of GMO Sneaking Into Food Supply This Year
A Switzerland based company called Evolva has developed a synthetic vanilla that is set to be released in 2014. The vanilla is created using a process of genetic engineering called synthetic biology.
Synthetic biology, according to a 2005 European Commission paper is “…the engineering of biology… the synthesis of complex, biologically based (or inspired) systems which display functions that do not exist in nature.” Unlike the older science of splicing genes from different species together, synthetic biology is seeking to create whole new organisms that do not exist on earth.
Evolva’s synthetic vanilla is created by inserting computer coded DNA into yeast. This new method of genetic engineering is called “natural” by Evolva.
Here is more about it:
Synthetic biology vanillin is distinct from the artificial vanillin already on the
market, although both are engineered in labs. Artificial vanillin is a mix of chemical
components. The new synthetic biology vanillin is synthesized by a genetically engineered
organism. While synthetic biologists claim that the yeast’s fermentation process
is natural10, it requires computer coded yeast that only exists inside of a lab.
Synthetic biology vanillin is made with a new synthetic genetic code inserted
into yeast. Using a computer, scientists edit the DNA in yeast and insert the computer
generated DNA, and then through a fermentation process, force the yeast to biosynthesize
vanillin11. Even though this vanillin is engineered and created by a pathway that does not
exist in nature, the synthetic vanillin marketers, Evola® and its partner, International
Flavours and Fragances, are trying to distance synthetic biology from genetic engineering
stigma and market it as “natural”.
Natural Vanilla depends upon intact tropical ecosystems, and its harvest is very
labor intensive. Pure vanilla comes from the Vanilla orchid: Vanilla planifolia. Each
flower is pollinated, harvested, sorted and cured by hand. One kilogram of vanilla extracts
requires about 500 kg of these vanilla beans12. The knowledge of vanilla farming is intertwined
with its cultural importance and its tradition has been passed between families
for hundreds of years. Without the natural vanilla market adding economic value to the
rainforest in these regions, these last standing rainforests will not be protected from deforestation
and sugar cane used to feed the yeast will replace the forests.
Synthetic biology vanillin will severely impact the natural vanilla market and
could harm sustainable farmers and poor communities across the world. The
natural vanilla market depends on consumer demand. Without labeling requirements,
consumers will not know if the “natural” product is made with real vanilla beans or synthetic
biology vanillin . This could devastate the international natural vanilla market.
Natural vanilla is a high value natural product, and sells for $1,200-$4,000 per kilogram.
Internationally, the natural vanilla market is approximately $240 million per year. This
is a significant part of the economy for the vanilla growing regions, which are primarily
in developing countries…Production of synthetic biology vanillin is not environmentally sustainable at the
industrial scale…It is unclear if synthetic biology vanillin is safe to eat, or what impacts if the synthetic
organisms may have upon were interact with natural organisms or ecosystems.
We do not have adequate regulatory agencies or sufficient independent data to determine
this. Without precautionary testing and regulations that are specific to synthetic biology
and which recognize it is as a unique and complex technology, we may not find emergent
health threats until it is too late18.
There is a lack of Federal regulations for synthetic biology. Similar to regulatory
challenges with genetically engineered products, the FDA has not developed risk assessment
protocols to assess whether the byproducts of synthetic biology may pose ecological
risks in the likely event that these unique new synthetic organisms escape into the environment19.
Instead of approving vanilla made from this new experimental genetic technology
as “Generally Regarded As Safe”, without specific agency tests, regulatory agencies should
test each new product and assess whether it is safe for use in foods. Currently, weak
regulations around genetic engineering and synthetic biology could allow this engineered
SynBio vanilla flavoring to be labeled as “natural” under US and EU labeling regulations20.
GMOs are not safe, GMOs are dangerous. This is going the wrong direction. GMOs are likely to cause food shortages, including famines in the USA, UK, and Canada.
According to the Bible, many in the USA, Canada, and the UK will die from lack of food in the future and be taken captive. Notice:
47 “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you. (Deuteronomy 28:47-51)
9 Her uncleanness is in her skirts; She did not consider her destiny; Therefore her collapse was awesome; She had no comforter. “O Lord, behold my affliction, For the enemy is exalted!” (Lamentations 1:9)
19 “Arise, cry out in the night, At the beginning of the watches; Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, Who faint from hunger at the head of every street.” (Lamentations 2:19)
9 Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger; For these pine away, Stricken for lack of the fruits of the field. 10 The hands of the compassionate women have cooked their own children; They became food for them in the destruction of the daughter of my people. (Lamentations 4:9-10)
4 We pay for the water we drink, And our wood comes at a price. 5 They pursue at our heels; We labor and have no rest. 6 We have given our hand to the Egyptians And the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread. 7 Our fathers sinned and are no more, But we bear their iniquities. 8 Servants rule over us; There is none to deliver us from their hand”. (Lamentations 5:4-8)
10 Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. (Luke 21:10-11)
5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.” (Revelation 6:5-6)
It will probably take a “perfect storm” of events for this to occur including droughts, floods, earthquakes, civil unrest, hurricanes, tornadoes, gmo and other crop failure, combined with foreign events and/or the increasingly increased debt of the USA to trigger some of this (and not all will be related to, or limited to, the USA), but it will happen. But I have long believed that GMO crop failure would likely be a major factor–yet the USA, UK, and Canada seemed determined to increase this risk.
In the last century, prior to the introduction of GMO “foods”, the late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote:
And so man IS just what he eats. Some of the most famous physicians and surgeons have said that 90% to 95% of all sickness and disease comes from faulty diet!
Most people are in utter ignorance of the fact that it does make a difference what we eat! Most people, and the customs of society, have followed a regimen of eating whatever tastes good to the palate.
Adults are babies grown up. Observe a nine-month-old baby. Everything that comes into his hands goes to his mouth!
My youngest brother may not like to read this in print, but I remember when he was about nine months old, and had managed to creep into the basement coal bin. We found him trying to eat little chunks of coal—his mouth and face well blackened!
You may laugh at babies trying to eat silver cups and chunks of coal. Or at people who dip small mice into a sauce, and, holding them by their tails, drop them as a delicious delicacy into their mouths.
If you do, they will laugh back at you. They will tell you that mice eat clean grain and clean foods, while you dip slimy, slithery oysters and other scavenger seafoods into cocktail sauces, and consider them a delicacy!
You think adults have actually LEARNED any better than nine-month-olds babies? Go to your fancy grocer’s and you’ll find on his shelves canned eel and canned rattlesnake.
WHY? As I said, humans know nothing at birth! We have to learn! But most of us do not know that! And, again, what we don’t know, we don’t know that we don’t know! And somehow, ever since babyhood, most humans seem to have grown up putting everything into the mouth. Most have grown up eating just whatever seemed to taste good—and whatever they saw others eating. There has been little education or even study about WHAT we ought—or ought NOT—to eat.
Most degenerative diseases are modern diseases—penalties for eating foods that have been demineralized in food factories—usually an excess of starch, sugar (the carbohydrates) and fats. Others are caused by a type of malnutrition—lack of needed minerals and vitamins in foods. Then people try to put the “vitamins” back into their systems by buying pills at the drugstore! (More on this can be found in the article HWA: Third Law of Success: Good Health.)
Basically the Bible advocates eating real food (it does not consider unclean meats to be food) and not too much of it. GMOs and other synthetic substances are not real food, and should be avoided when possible (which is more and more difficult to do in places like the USA).
GMOs are not what the world needs. Jesus, repentance, and the Kingdom of God is. The world seems to wish to go the wrong direction on this.
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
GMOs and Bible Prophecy What are GMOs? Since they were not in the food supply until 1994, how could they possibly relate to Bible prophecy? Do GMOs put the USA and others at risk? Here is a related YouTube video GMO Risks and the Bible.
Chimeras: Has Science Crossed the Line? What are chimeras? Has science crossed the line? Does the Bible give any clues?
Jesus: The Son of God and Saviour Who was Jesus? Why did He come to earth? What message did He bring? Is there evidence outside the Bible that He existed? Here is a YouTube sermon titled Jesus: Son of God and Saviour.
Just What Do You Mean — Repentance? Do you know what repentance is? Have you truly repented? Repented of what? Herbert W. Armstrong wrote this as a booklet on this important subject.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God was the Emphasis of Jesus and the Early Church Did you know that? Do you even know what the gospel of the kingdom is all about? You can also see a YouTube video sermon The Gospel of the Kingdom.
Just What Do You Mean the Kingdom of God? A booklet that was written by Herbert Armstrong answers questions about the Kingdom.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Saxon (non-Dutch) Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo-Saxon nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? Here is a link to the Spanish version of this article: Anglo-América & las Tribus Perdidas de Israel. Information is also in the YouTube sermons titled Where are the Ten Lost Tribes? Why does it matter? and British are the Covenant People. A short YouTube of prophetic interest may be Barack Obama and the State of the Apocalypse.
Will the Anglo-Saxon Nations be Divided and Have People Taken as Slaves? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people? Here is a link to a video titled Will the USA and other Anglo-nations be Divided and Their People Made Slaves? Here is a related item in the Spanish language ¿Serán divididas las naciones anglosajonas?
British are the Covenant People What do ‘British’ and ‘Britain’ mean in Hebrew? Are the descendants of the Anglo-Saxons people of the covenant? Does the British royal family connect to the throne of David? What does the Bible teach? What does history show us? Is there any DNA evidence related to British-Israelism? When did Christianity make it to the British Isles? Could Jeremiah have made it to the British Isles? What type of Christians made it to the British Isles? Did the last King of England believe in British Israelism?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe?
Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? The Book of Revelation tells of a beast power that will rise up. Some think that this must be Russia or could be Islamic, while others say that this power is European. The Book of Daniel tells of the rise of an end time King of the North that some think must be referring to a Russian leader, while others say that this power is European. How can you be sure? This YouTube video has all the scriptural proofs that you should need to prove that this power must be a European one.
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