Bill Gates is the former founder of Microsoft, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has focused his attention on health in recent years.
Gates has a long history of success with countless business ventures, but his recent decisions have been controversial to say the least.
In 2017, Gates teamed up with fellow billionaire Sir Richard Branson in support of lab-grown beef made from genetically engineered yeast, in a move that Gates and his associates hoped would disrupt and perhaps even end the meat industry as we know it.
In February of this year, another controversial Gates-funded project, designed by Harvard engineers to block out the sun’s rays with geoengineering, was placed on hiatus, according to the university’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program.
Now, details of Gates’ latest ambitious project are coming to light: and it’s one to watch out for if you’re a purchaser of natural and organic foods, food ingredients, vitamins and supplements.
Gates-backed Start-Up Plans to Create “Custom Organisms” Using “Cell Programming” GMO Technology
The latest Gates-backed start-up making headlines is Ginkgo Bioworks, an outfit with plans of creating “custom organisms” in a way that has never been done before.
The company recently went public, disclosing the details of a $17.5 billion deal, according to a report from Bloomberg.com.
The goal of the company is to utilize its high-tech “cell programming” technology to genetically engineer flavors and scents into commercial strains of genetically engineered yeast and bacteria.
The company plans to use this GMO yeast to create “natural” ingredients including vitamins, amino acids, enzymes and flavors for the addition to ultra-processed foods.
An investor presentation further revealed the company’s plans recently.
Ginkgo said its goal is to create up to 20,000 engineered “cell programs” for its food products.
Axios reported that the company plans to charge customers to use its “biological platform,” in hopes of adding a revenue stream similar to apps on the Apple Store or data from Amazon.com.
The company is not targeting farmers or consumers, reports say, but rather the world’s largest chemical, food and pharmaceutical companies.
Whether or not the ultimate health of the consumer will be diminished by these GMO creations in the long-term remains to be seen, but as usual, there is no talk of long-term safety testing or labeling.
As usual, proceed with caution, as the track record of the food and GMO industry suggests that such ingredients will be hidden under benign-sounding names like “natural flavors,” “fragrance,” or similar words to hide how they are produced.
Until more information is revealed, buy organic and Non-GMO Project Verfied whenever possible — these labels are the best ways to avoid the GMO takeover of our food supply at a time when 6 in 10 Americans have a chronic disease, and 4 in 10 Americans have at least two chronic diseases.