b"is focused on bridging gaps in the industry. As founder of the Culinary Breeding Network, she builds communities of plant breeders, seed growers, farmers, chefs, retailers, distributors and other stakeholders, providing each group with crucial infor-mation they otherwise wouldnt have access to with the ultimate goal of improving quality in vegetables, fruits and grains.I believe strongly in collaboration and having these partner-ships and conversations will bring to light things breeders won't often think about, Selman says. Chefs may want specific traits in a pepper, for example, that a breeder isnt aware of, like a particular rounding on the shoulders, or a texture in the skin once its been roasted.A plant breeder is selecting for these things whether they are aware they are doing that or not. In fact, if they arent selecting for it, they are almost selecting against it, Selman says. Her Variety Showcases and other tasting events are open to the public and allow consumers and industry professionals to taste and learn about new and in-development vegetable, fruit and grain cultivars. The next event is Sept. 8, 2024, in Portland, Oregon.The seed world is so unknown to most people, even grow-ers, really, Selman says. Its my goal to bring that information to people and to create connections between breeders and Blackberry shoots in growth media at Pairwise. the people who are ultimately eating and working with these products.In addition, the supply chains for fresh items are more frag- Creating with CRISPRmented so breeders are basically incentivized to focus on theIn May 2023, Pairwise launched a leafy greens blend for food grower rather than the end consumers, Hummel says. service in partnership with Performance Food Group. This blend Focusing only on grower-focused traits such as yield,of purple and deep green leaves are derived from mustard pest or disease resistance may not benefit growers as much asgreens and part of the same family of vegetables as Brussel expected because it simply rewards whoever can do things thesprouts, cauliflower and kale. This is the first food made with cheapest.CRISPR technology available in the U.S. market. Pairwise plans We can do better and have the best of both worlds,to launch the blends in retail stores in early 2024 under its Mazourek says. But there has to be a value system in place andconsumer-facing brand, Conscious Greens.a way for consumers to identify something that has the specificPlant breeding has existed for 10,000 years and gotten flavor they seek, he says, touting apples as a successful exampleprogressively more efficient, but until the last 100 years or so, it of this.has always relied on random genetic variation in the population They are sold by name and not by group so thats whatof plants the breeder is working with, Hummel says. CRISPR were trying to do for other crops because its very consumer- allows the breeder to target a specific gene to create genetic empowering to look for the flavors you like and its very growervariation at that spot, versus relying on massive fields of plants to empowering to grow some signature items where those choicesget enough variation to select on. and efforts have a return on your investment, he says.CRISPR was first used as a genome editing tool in 2012 and Hummel says Pairwise is working to actively include consum- there are now multiple types of well-known and highly optimized ers in their innovation strategies. CRISPR enzymes and editing tools that are broadly used in a There is broader recognition across the industry that yourange of species.can't leave the consumer out and expect them to be excited, heGenes edited with CRISPR can be disabled, or tuned, mean-says. Were working to create benefits that are more tangibleing the strength of their output can be adjusted, and a handful and directly observable to the consumer, and that will also ben- of different types of CRISPR tools can make these changes, efit the supply chain and grower as well in some cases. Hummel says. We take either approach, depending on what is appropriate for the trait biology of each particular circumstance.Connecting with Consumers CRISPR accelerates plant breeding by providing the breed-At Oregon State, Selman is passionate about the seed industrysing program with substantially more genetic variation on a role in creating better food and flavors, and much of her worktrait-relevant target gene than it would otherwise have. Its not 28/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2024"