![]() Respondents who indicated a willingness to eat them tended to be under 30 with higher levels of education and household income, and many expressed a preference for transparency around gene-edited foods. Most people have not made up their minds about whether they would actively avoid or eat them, according to a 2022 study that Cummings conducted. However, gene-edited foods could still face obstacles with public acceptance, says Christopher Cummings, a senior research fellow at North Carolina State University and Iowa State University. In a 2019 poll by the Pew Research Center, about 51 percent of respondents thought GMOs were worse for people’s health than those with no genetically modified ingredients. Despite decades of evidence showing that GMOs are safe, many Americans are still wary of these foods. Gene-edited foods like the new mustard greens may offer similar consumer benefits without the baggage of the GMO label. It’s engineered to contain more antioxidants than the regular red variety of tomato, and its shelf life is also twice as long. Last year, a GMO purple tomato was introduced in the US with consumers in mind. In reality, most of the GMOs on the market today were developed to help farmers prevent crop loss and increase yield. When genetic engineering was first introduced to agriculture in the 1990s, proponents touted the potential consumer benefits of GMOs, such as healthier or fortified foods. “I don’t think this is likely to be the answer to any nutritional problems,” he says, adding that a staple crop like fortified rice would likely have a much bigger nutritional impact. People who don’t eat enough vegetables are unlikely to change their habits just because a new salad alternative is available, says Peter Lurie, president and executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington, DC–based nonprofit that advocates for safer and healthier foods. ![]() ![]() Some question the value of using Crispr to make less bitter greens. Beef from these cows hasn’t come onto the market yet.Īnother Minnesota firm, Calyxt, came out with a gene-edited soybean oil in 2019 that’s free of trans fats, but the product uses an older form of gene editing known as TALENs. Cattle with this trait may be able to better withstand hot temperatures. Minnesota company Acceligen used the gene-editing tool to give cows a short, slick-hair coat. And last year, the US approved Crispr-edited cattle for use in meat production. Scientists are using Crispr in an attempt to improve other crops, such as boosting the number of kernels on ears of corn or breeding cacao trees with enhanced resistance to disease. The company behind the tomato, Sanatech Seeds, claims that eating GABA can help relieve stress and lower blood pressure. A chemical messenger in the brain, GABA blocks impulses between nerve cells. In 2021, a Tokyo firm introduced a Crispr-edited tomato in Japan that contains high amounts of y-aminobutyric acid, or GABA. The mustard greens aren’t the first Crispr food to be launched commercially. The company also met with the FDA prior to introducing its new greens. In 2020, the USDA determined Pairwise's mustard greens were not plant pests. The US Department of Agriculture reviews applications for gene-edited foods to determine whether these altered plants could become a pest, and the Food and Drug Administration recommends that producers consult with the agency before bringing these new foods to market. In 2019, only about one in 10 adults in the US met the daily recommended intake of 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Our lifestyle and needs are evolving and we’re becoming more aware of our nutrition deficit,” says Haven Baker, cofounder and chief business officer at Pairwise. It’s using Crispr to develop seedless blackberries and pitless cherries. Beyond mustard greens, the company is also trying to improve fruits. Pairwise’s goal is to make already healthy foods more convenient and enjoyable. Crispr has yet to end world hunger, but in the short term, it may give consumers more variety in what they eat. For instance, you could make crops that produce larger yields, resist pests and disease, or require less water. If you could tweak the genetic code of plants, you could-at least in theory-install any number of favorable traits into them. Ever since, scientists have envisioned lofty uses for the technique. A naturally occurring part of bacteria’s immune system, Crispr was first harnessed as a gene-editing tool in 2012.
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