CRISPR gene editing has a pivotal role to play in the fight against global food insecurity, a panel of US experts told the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization on November 14. The panel explained that humans have modified the genetics of plants and animals for thousands of years, and gene editing is the latest innovation in this long-term effort to sustainably produce an abundant food supply.
Genetic tools like CRISPR, the panelists argued, can help reduce pesticide use, pollution and boost food production without employing more land and water, natural resources increasingly strained by the growing food demand of expanding populations in the developing world.
View a video of the panel discussion here:
http://www.fao.org/webcast/home/en/item/5136/icode/
Panelists included:
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Dr. Brian Staskawicz, Scientific Director of Agricultural Genomics, Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California Berkeley;
Dr. Matin Qaim, Professor of International Food Economics and Rural Development, University of Goettingen;
Dr. Clint Nesbitt, Senior Director of Science and Regulatory Affairs, Food and Agricultural Section, Biotechnology Innovation Organization.
Read full, original article: CRISPR Technology and Its Potential to Transform Agriculture
