August 1, 2026

4 Min Read

Submitted by PIC

Sponsored by PIC

Agriculture has always evolved through better tools.

From selective breeding and artificial insemination to precision nutrition and modern biosecurity, producers have consistently adopted innovations that improve animal health, efficiency and long-term sustainability. Now, gene editing is emerging as the industry’s next major advancement – and unlike many tools before it, it’s already influencing daily life far beyond the farm.

For swine producers awaiting access to PIC’s porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS)-resistant pig, that broader context matters.

Gene editing is no longer just a concept discussed in labs. It’s already being used to improve food production systems, reshape the grocery aisle and deliver transformational therapies for devastating diseases like cancer.

Improving food production efficiency and quality

“Five or 10 years ago, having gene-edited food products on shelves was more of a vision,” says Ryan Bartlett, PhD, chief technology and commercial officer at Pairwise. “Today, these products are being produced and are on grocery store shelves.”

Pairwise, an agricultural technology company focused on CRISPR gene editing applications in plants, partners with organizations including Bayer, Corteva and Sun World to improve production efficiency in row crops and consumer-facing foods.

The vision is simple: use gene editing to solve practical problems faster than traditional breeding alone can.

“Traditional breeding could potentially get us there one day, but it may take 50 years,” says Bartlett. “Gene editing allows us to make meaningful improvements on a much faster timeline. And time is the limiting factor in everything we do as farmers.”

That accelerated timeline matters in agriculture, where producers face constant pressure to improve efficiency, sustainability and food quality.

One example is the seedless blackberry, which Pairwise helped develop after consumers repeatedly shared the same frustration: they loved the fruit’s flavor and nutritional value but disliked the seeds.

“Convenience drives consumption,” says Bartlett. “Now families can give their kids a nutritious choice without the nuisance of seeds.”

The same technology is also being used to address global food system challenges. Pairwise is also working to develop more compact yam varieties for use in African production systems, where improved efficiency could help address nutritional deficits in regions where yams are a staple.

Transforming human healthcare outcomes

Outside of agriculture, gene editing is transforming human medicine.

“In the U.S., patients now have access to approved gene therapies that treat inherited diseases, including certain forms of blindness, hemophilia and several types of blood cancer,” says Rachel Haurwitz, Ph.D., president and CEO of Caribou Biosciences. “More recently, we’ve seen the first CRISPR-based gene-edited cell therapy approved for sickle cell anemia.”

Caribou Biosciences, Inc., founded by CRISPR pioneers including Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna, is using gene editing technology to develop therapies for blood cancer.

Caribou’s own gene-edited CAR-T cell therapies are showing promising results in patients who had exhausted other treatment options, with some patients remaining cancer-free years after a single treatment.

For Haurwitz, those outcomes reinforce the broader potential of gene editing across industries.

“This is not a single-use technology,” she says. “It is a platform that can address challenges across human health, animal health, agriculture and many other fields.”

Tackling the swine industry’s challenge: PRRS

For swine producers, one of those challenges is PRRS. Traditional biosecurity, vaccination and management strategies remain essential, but PRRS continues to pose a threat due to its ability to mutate and spread aggressively.

Haurwitz sees PIC’s work as an example of gene editing solving a highly targeted, real-world problem.

“By making a specific change to a gene involved in how the PRRS virus enters cells, PIC has created pigs that are resistant to the disease without introducing foreign DNA,” she says. “That kind of precise, intentional change is exactly what makes CRISPR genome editing so powerful.”

Industry leaders believe gene editing will ultimately become another practical tool within agriculture – not a replacement for good management or breeding practices. In addition to solving operational problems for producers, gene editing represents an opportunity to meet consumer demands at the same time. The technology is a pathway for achieving reductions in antibiotic use, improved convenience, increased sustainability, enhanced nutrition and more – features that consumers are increasingly seeking out and endorsing with their purchase decisions.

With gene editing and gene therapies also leading to monumental solutions for devastating human diseases, consumers are growing increasingly familiar with gene editing and the benefits it can provide.

“I think gene editing is going to become an integrated platform across all segments of agriculture,” says Bartlett. “If we do this right, it’s going to be pretty seamless.”

The future of gene editing does not represent a technological revolution, but rather a continuation of the promise producers have always made: adopting better tools to care for animals, improve productivity and build a more sustainable future.

Read more about the PRRS-resistant pig and other examples of gene editing in agriculture.