We’ll Be Eating Gene-Edited Food In Five Years

[Techno-Druid]

(Source)

CRISPR’d Crops
Jennifer Doudna, one of the co-inventors of CRISPR, thinks she knows which application for the powerful gene-editing tool will be the first to affect the mainstream — and it has nothing to do with curing diseases or creating designer babies.

“I think in the next five years the most profound thing we’ll see in terms of CRISPR’s effects on people’s everyday lives will be in the agricultural sector,” Doudna told Business Insider — and those CRISPR’d crops have the potential to help alleviate problems ranging from hunger to obesity.

Not GMOs
Let’s get this out of the way first: Gene-edited crops are very different from the controversial genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

While genetic modification involves mixing and matching genes from different organisms — splicing DNA from a pesticide-resistant bacteria into soybean seeds, for example — gene editing involves making changes to an organism’s genome that could happen through a natural mutation.

The distinction between the two is so profound that the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in March 2018 it wouldn’t subject gene-edited crops to any additional regulation — a far more hands-off approach than it takes with GMOs.

We’ve already seen several examples of researchers using CRISPR to give crops beneficial traits — they’ve edited tomato plants to ensure a higher crop yield, mushrooms to prevent browning, and soybeans to prevent the production of trans fats.

Those three examples alone illustrate CRISPR’s potential to give us more food that lasts longer and is healthier than what we currently have — and if Doudna is right, we could see those super-charged foods and others make their way onto our dinner plates very soon.

CRISPR shows a lot of promise in the agricultural industry; for both livestock and crops. Scientists are able to both remove target gene sequences as well as add them to enhance the size or resilience of crops. How realistic do you find this prediction? Will our food be gene tailored to maximum aesthetic appeal and efficiency?

[Jonnusthegreat]

Aren't we already doing this?

[horbindr]

FDA approval takes a lot longer than 5 years and i'm sure you need at least some form of that. but 10 years sure.

[zenkai]

Aren't we already doing this?

pretty much with GMOs Corn is in damn near everything and most of that has been tinkered with.

[The Stormbringer]

Gene-editing is actually more extreme than GMOs. The people who hate GMOs will go into an apoplectic frenzy the moment CRISPR food gets on the market.

[Sunseeker]

FDA approval takes a lot longer than 5 years and i'm sure you need at least some form of that. but 10 years sure.

THIS. FDA approval is slow. Yeah I could see it happening in 5 years, but 10 seems more realistic.

But otherwise that's a fairly short timetable.

[Voidism]

Can't wait. I fully support the science itself. I just have problems with how patents etc are handled and the companies behind them.

[horbindr]

Gene-editing is actually more extreme than GMOs. The people who hate GMOs will go into an apoplectic frenzy the moment CRISPR food gets on the market.

will probbaly stay more of less the same tbh. in america it will have a capitalistic flavor to it, in europe only a couple tried-and-true strains will be economically viable to get certified, china will probably be the first place where some form of public health disaster happens.

[Bodonius]

Modify more and faster, in the end its probably a good thing.

[Techno-Druid]

will probbaly stay more of less the same tbh. in america it will have a capitalistic flavor to it, in europe only a couple tried-and-true strains will be economically viable to get certified, china will probably be the first place where some form of public health disaster happens.

The FDA seems to be pretty light on CRISPR, but the EU categorizes CRISPR under pre-existing GMO laws, much to the dismay of scientists.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

Ya'll ever read Day of the Triffids?

[PC2]

Eventually yeah, idk about the 5 year timeline. Evolution optimized plants for survival in harsh conditions. As we artificially make those conditions less harsh they can have more yield. Kind of like how farm chickens can be 5x bigger than chickens in the wild, but they can't survive in the wild. Or the gene-editting could make them more resilient as it relates to certain climate zones. So many options.

[Laerrus]

Aren't we already doing this?

Yup, that winter wheat that my grandfather used to grow, doesn't look anything today like it did back then. Back then it was waist high, now it barely comes up to your knees. It has been genetically modified to have a shorter stalk, this way more of the plant's energy goes into producing grain instead of building a stalk, resulting in higher yields per acre.

[horbindr]

Eventually yeah, idk about the 5 year timeline. Evolution optimized plants for survival in harsh conditions. As we artificially make those conditions less harsh they can have more yield. Kind of like how chickens can be 5x bigger than chickens in the wild, but they can't survive in the wild. Or the gene-editting could make them more resilient as it relates to certain climate zones. So many option.

thats the dream sure. but we all know stuff like seedless plants, plants that die after 1 season, plants that grow prettier but not better food, plants that destroy ecosystems, etc is more likely.

at the end of the day it's like so many other technologies that can change the world but are too expensive for the regions where it can make the biggest changes until several decades of maturing the technology have taken place.

[Daedius]

I want Pork flavoured beef.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Doesn't bother me. Personally I would like a Jetson's pill form of everything your body needs. For a meal.

- - - Updated - - -

Eventually yeah, idk about the 5 year timeline. Evolution optimized plants for survival in harsh conditions. As we artificially make those conditions less harsh they can have more yield. Kind of like how farm chickens can be 5x bigger than chickens in the wild, but they can't survive in the wild. Or the gene-editting could make them more resilient as it relates to certain climate zones. So many options.

That's be pretty bad ass, although personally, I'd like to have 4 arms that be cool.

[Independent voter]

Let's genetically modify this corn with CRISPR.

It's not genetically modified though, that would make it a GMO and people are scared of GMOs.

[Arenis]

America will be first to adopt it, as food/feed regulation is less strict than in Europe. IIRC, they only ask for a label (they don't require it) and need less validation before approval. In Europe, especially due to the slow pace of adaptation of the EFSA, things will take a while longer. The more progressive countries are more likely to adopt this food/feed, but the more conservative countries are still reluctant. However, EU-wide acceptance of GMO's and other kinds of food/feed (e.g. through transformation) has an 'opt-out at will' legislation, meaning that those countries that do not wish to cater this kind of food despite rigorous EFSA testing, are not obliged to. I think this is a practical middle-ground on genetically altered food and hope they become more mainstream soon. I understand the economic issues that could arise due to genetically altered food, like privatization and monopolies, but I believe an increase in food yield without health-risks takes priority.

[Logwyn]

Aren't we already doing this?

We've been altering the makeup of plants and animals for hundreds if not thousands of years. If you look up the way the food looked originally compared to now they look way different. All because of selective breeding and altering the DNA of the species through selective breeding.

[The Stormbringer]

The FDA seems to be pretty light on CRISPR, but the EU categorizes CRISPR under pre-existing GMO laws, much to the dismay of scientists.

They should be under even stricter guidelines than GMOs, considering the speed and depth that changes can be made, and I'm someone that's for CRISPR. I just also see the capacity for people to abuse it and bring about the apocalypse if they fuck up.