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CRISPR technology presents opportunities for farmers
An Indiana farmer says a new genome technology could help farmers improve field crops.
Mark Seib learned more about the CRISPR gene-editing technology during a recent conference in California.
He says he’s excited about the advancements this technology will eventually offer farmers.
“We might be able to end pesticides to a certain degree and we might be able to eliminate different things, maybe even to the point of herbicides,” he says.
Seib says the agriculture industry needs to do a better job of educating consumers about the technology and what it means for farmers.
He tells Brownfield that the industry made some mistakes in the past when communicating about GMOs.
“Whenever the public asked the question, we just fed them with more science facts and we fed them with science facts that may not have been exactly what they were looking for,” he says. “I think what we need to do in our industry and in all the industries that are going to be affected by the CRISPR, is we need to tell the story.”
Seib attended the CRISPR Conference at the University of California, Berkley, on behalf of the United Soybean Board. Representatives from a variety of groups including farmers, hospital administrators, and consumers were in attendance.
Several agriculture companies like Monsanto have signed on to further develop the technology.
Audio: Mark Seib, USB Director
Looking forward for day when gene edited crops will be grown over a large area by the farmers. This ould be the realizaion of the dream of directed mutagenesis.