EMERGING BIOTECH
A Tastier, Crispier, CRISPR Salad
How Gene Editing Might Make Health Taste Better
I wasn’t always a proponent of culinary creativity. In fact, I was such a picky eater that I inadvertently forced my parents to exercise some culinary creativity of their own. For a period of a few months, they implemented what they coined “Vegetable of the Week”, a gamified grocery game where I would pick out an unfamiliar vegetable to incorporate into a few weekday meals.
If I had played cleverly, I would’ve pretended that I’d never heard of a potato. Instead, kohlrabi, red swiss chard, and rutabaga were on the menu.
Appearances are deceiving — I wasn’t happy.
“No amount of cheese sauce can make this taste good” is probably what I thought — but maybe the solution to bitter kohlrabi wasn’t addition at all.
For biotechnologists, it’s more likely a series of very strategic subtractions.
Their healthier alternative to an excess of cheese sauce targets the specific genes that make some leafy greens so unpalatable. By leveraging the DNA-editing technology CRISPR, the Pairwise startup’s team successfully removed the ‘bitter’ gene in mustard greens that deterred so many consumers from the otherwise nutrient-rich vegetable.
As we’ve seen from our jumbo grocery store strawberries, genetically engineered crops are nothing new. So what makes CRISPR produce so special?
Let’s start by drawing the line between GMOs and CRISPR.
Unlike our colossal Genetically Modified Organisms, CRISPR’s DNA strand isn’t altered by adding foreign DNA. Instead, the targeted gene of choice is cut and removed, and it remains its genetically authentic self… without its unwanted trait. These changes are small and undoubtedly subtle — so subtle that even traditional testing techniques fail to distinguish the CRISPR-edited organism from its unmodified counterpart.
This distinction between GMO and CRISPR might explain why consumable CRISPR products haven’t been met with as much opposition as would be expected.
Introducing foreign DNA into my broccoli?!? The GMO method has sparked concerns like this in the past.
Removing a trait from my broccoli? Most consumers would be faster to get on board with a genetic engineering method like CRISPR that doesn’t bring new DNA into play.
This agricultural application of CRISPR isn’t only revolutionary — it’s also extremely marketable.
As of right now, Pairwise’s CRISPR-edited mustard greens are hitting American shelves, but we have yet to see the long term consumer trends of these gene-edited consumables.
Their main selling point? Our daily dose of veggies is now supposedly more palatable — but not everyone is finding this news easy to digest.
Organic farmers and agricultural experts alike have pointed out that there are natural “cultural methods” for sweetening produce and optimizing nutritional value from the ground up — all without the need for genetic interference. Some food critics have even come to the defense of the bitter flavour profile, asserting that true foodies embrace bitterness as a part of a tasteful palate.
In spite of these subtle objections, agricultural CRISPR innovation shows no signs of slowing down. Scientists have even started leveraging CRISPR to develop genetically engineered plants with enhanced carbon-capturing capacities. With these rapidly emerging applications of genetic engineering technology, innovation has proven that the next generation of agriculture isn’t forecasted futurism — it’s already here.
With all that said, these highly anticipated and controversial CRISPR vegetables have yet to hit Canadian shelves — but if or when they do, will they be worth a “Vegetable of the Week” sequel?
