Jim Greenwood, the president and CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, described the potential of gene editing and the way it can benefit American farmers, in a recent op-ed for The Des Moines Register.

He wrote, “Iowa farmers have an abundance of tools at their disposal to combat climate change thanks to an advanced understanding of plant genetics. For example, drought-tolerant field corn can grow with limited water, and as the planet warms, resources like water will only become scarcer.

Gene editing holds tremendous promise for climate-resilient crops. It can take decades off the process of plant breeding while conserving water and enhancing soil quality. Researchers are using gene editing to optimize tiny organisms in the soil, so plants absorb even more nutrients, reducing the need for chemical inputs. And as animal diseases such as African Swine Fever threaten pork production in Iowa and worldwide, gene editing is also being researched to develop disease-resistant pigs.”