By Prossy Nandudu
Ugandans who frequent super markets or prefer imported food items to eat more genetically modified foods. This is due to advances in biotechnology through synthetic biology, that involves developing, modifying or redesigning a product from scratch or from nothing.
Reason is that Uganda imports most of the processed food items from countries that have authorized the use and application of biotechnology.
This was revealed by Geoffrey Otim, the founder and chief executive officer of SynBio Africa during a second International Synthetic Biology Conference that took place at Imperial Royale Hotel conference from the 12th to 14th of July.
Synthetic biology is advanced biotechnology. It involves redesigning and modifying biological systems, to address identified needs either in health or agriculture among others, according to Otim.
Just like biotechnology, the technology is used by researchers to for example to develop crops with more nutrients, high yielding, or are resistant to pests and disease or even tolerant to drought among others, explained Otim.
In health, Otim said the technology was used in the development of the RNA vaccine, which was used in the management of the Covid 19 pandemic.
He added that while countries where most of the imported and processed food items come from have regulations in place for the technologies used to produce the biotechnology items, Uganda lacks regulation.
“What people should know is that technology is growing very fast, it will not wait for us, it is improving each and every day. You shop in supermarkets, whatever you see in the supermarket is imported, do you know how it was developed? Do you know what you eat in conferences, on the plane, chances are that you have eaten a genetically modified item,” said Otim.
He also assured the public that although many could have eaten such food items, countries where these come from have already put in place regulations that guide the production of such foods to ensure they are safe for both domestic and trade.
“I can assure people that products from biotechnology are safe for human consumption, nothing comes out without regulation, Samples are tested, clinical trials conducted including food safety bodies before these can go to the community. That is why many companies are now producing and exporting genetically modified foods away from their countries,” he added.
Otim also suggested that for Ugandans to benefit from such technologies not only for food but also for trade, policy makers who, most of the time lack scientific knowledge should be equipped with such information so as to pass the regulation governing science.
What are the benefits of the biotechnology law?
In his keynote address to conference participants, John Cumbers, Founder and CEO of SYNBIOBETA USA based company warned that in the next 20 years, synthetic biology will be used in making anything. Adding that innovators, businesses and policy makers must act if they are to benefit from this kind of bio revolution.
Potential impact
He explained that 60% of the World’s inputs could be made through biological processes,45% of the World’s disease burden can be addressed through biological means, and 30% of private sector research and development will be made through biology-related industries.
In his presentation, Cumbers also listed countries with more synthetic industries which are the United States of America, with 476, the United Kingdom with 104, Canada 35, France 20 and Japan 8, including S. Africa.
Examples of products being produced through synthetic biology.
Mzansi Meat is a food tech company that grows meat directly from cells by developing scalable technology without concerns related to health, climate, or animal welfare. It is a cell-cultured meat startup that develops cultured beef (South Africa).
Mogale Meat Co. is developing real meat products from southern Africa’s prized wild antelope, poultry and free-roaming livestock, using advanced cellular agriculture technologies (South Africa).
Burgers.A new generation of meats and cheeses made entirely from plants is being made in the USA.Here scientists studied animal products at the molecular level, and selected specific proteins and nutrients from greens, seeds, and grains.
Fish. Some companies are growing healthy marine-animal cells on their own, instead of live fish, with an aim of producing seafood products that eliminate the need to harvest fish from water bodies.
Diary products. Animal-free dairy products: Using yeast and fermentation, they make the very same dairy proteins that cows make.
Health
AzarGen is a biotechnology company focused on developing human therapeutic proteins using advanced genetic engineering and synthetic biology techniques in plants (South Africa).
Environment protection
LanzaTech is developing a variety of platform chemicals and fuels, including the world’s first alternative jet fuel derived from industrial waste gases. Carbon emissions are fed to trillions of carbon-hungry microbes that turn pollution into valuable raw material commodities among others.
Beers
Brewer’s yeast (with recombinant DNA derived from yeast, mint, and basil) can be engineered to alter the flavor of beer. Bioengineering can lead to flavor palette expansion while increasing the sustainability of the brewing process.
