The discovery of gene editing technology is sparking multi-billion dollar investment in companies seeking to develop new crop traits, with nutrition, and pest resistance and climate resilience among top targets.

Gene editing involves making highly specific changes to the DNA sequence of a living organism, using enzymes engineered for that purpose, where so-called CRISPR-Cas9 is a standout tool. The technique is distinct from genetic modification, in that it does not involve introducing foreign DNA from other species.  

At New Food Finance, our focus is driving a green transition in food production. We follow more than 3,300 companies leading that transition. We have classified these according to more than 1,700 sectors, sub-sectors, markets and technologies that mitigate pollution, greenhouse gases or biodiversity loss, in this way creating a taxonomy to define this transition.

We have identified more than $3.2 billion recent private sector investment in companies seeking to use gene editing to develop new crop varieties. The chart above shows examples of target traits. In descending order of investment, these include:  

• Wellness – seeking improvements in nutritional quality of crops, such as fibre or essential fatty acid content. Example: Benson Hill

• High protein – aiming to boost protein content, not least to cater to the plant-based meat substitute industry. Example: Amfora

• Sustainable – a catch-all for improvements such as lower water consumption or fertiliser requirement. Example: Cibus

• Higher yield – aiming to improve yields, or maintain yields with lower fertiliser input. Example: Inari

• Resistance – aiming to cut pesticide use by building natural resistance to pests including fungal, viral and bacterial diseases. Example: Resurrect Bio

• Tolerance to extreme weather – targeting drought resistance, in particular. Example: PlantArcBio