Here are some words guaranteed to draw exasperated sighs among synthetic biologist: Food Babe. Greenpeace. Friends of the Earth. These are megaphone-wielding critics of genetically modified organisms. “They really have an agenda,” said a synthetic biology company rep, her eyes widening with concern, at Consumer Bio, a invite-only forum for venture capitalists and applied biology companies in San Francisco this week. Food Babe was most certainly not invited, but the anti-GMO message she’s perfected was the subtext of many conversations.
At Consumer Bio, companies both big and small dreamed about the potential of genetically engineering microbes to make food, perfumes, and new materials like lab-spun spider silk. The small companies included start-ups like the event’s sponsor, Ginkgo Bioworks, a Boston-based outfit that make flavors and fragrances with yeast. But the big players were there, too–Colgate, General Mills, L’Oreal. And most of them agreed that their biggest problem isn’t science. It’s branding.
Everyone there was afraid of “GMOs”—not the idea, but the word. “A big struggle everyone here has is how to do you talk about your product without calling it a genetically modified organism,” says Mark Bünger of the market research firm Lux Research. In a world where “is Monsanto” autocompletes to “evil” and “satan,” you want to stay far far away. But how do you tout the benefits of a technology when the well is already so poisoned?
One idea is you just forget about the technology—talk up the product instead. Unlike ag companies like Monsanto, most of these companies aren’t selling the actual genetically modified organism, but its product. Bolt Threads, for example, wants to make premium clothing from spider silk made by modified yeast. “It’s all about romance. It’s not about labs,” says Sue Levin, Bolt’s chief marketing officer. After she started the job last year, the company picked a new name—it used to be called “Refactored Materials”—and a sleek new logo.
Bolt will launch its first product next year, and Levin doesn’t plan to talk up “yeast” or “growth medium.” “I want the first thing people say about Bolt Threads to be ‘Oh my god, I want that,’” says Levin. Take the example of Tesla, which makes electric cars that are, importantly, flipping fantastic to drive.
But another tact is radical transparency, especially for more science-forward companies that want to allay the fears of consumers interested in the nitty gritty of genetic modification. Ginkgo Bioworks, which modifies yeast to make flavors like vanillin or scents like rose oil, is taking that road. "If you don’t talk about the process, people will be skeptical,” says Jason Kelly, a co-founder of the company. So Ginkgo has welcomed reporters, including WIRED’s (stay tuned), to its office in Boston, where big glass windows look into the gleaming white lab space.
Ginkgo also has an impressive scientific pedigree. Its founders include Tom Knight, a former MIT professor known as the father of synthetic biology, so the company has a stake in promoting the field. “About a year and a half ago, we decided we had to take the initiative,” says Kelly. And sponsoring events like Consumer Bio are part of it.
No matter how much you do or do not talk about the process, the imperative is to avoid the letters “GMO.” Revolution Bioengineering, which is genetically engineering a color-changing petunia, calls it “applied biology.” Ginkgo Bioworks talks about “designing” organisms to make “cultured ingredients.” Nobody’s hiding the actual process of their technology, but take away the emotionally charged letters of “GMO,” and Monsanto’s dark shadow no longer looms.
Rebranding GMO might just need to start with these smaller start-ups. The established companies at the meeting were more tempered in their enthusiasm. “I don’t think you can do it in an established brand,” says John Buckley of Kerry, an international food ingredients and flavors company. They’re happy to let startups take the risk—rather than risk the value of their established brand.
And that make sense for another reason way, too. When you hear about a big multinational corporation engineering microbes, that sounds like the plot for a dystopian video game. Monsanto couldn’t feed starving children without people casting aspersions. But a shiny Silicon Valley startup engineering microbes to change the world? That’s suddenly kind of exciting. Maybe even... disruptive...?
