8 / SEEDWORLD.COM INTERNATIONAL EDITION 2026 still draws strong reactions, especially in public forums. Adams does not dismiss that reality, but he argues the industry has not always helped itself in how it frames the conversation. “I think one of the things that industry got wrong with GMOs was it tended to get into the science as opposed to the benefits,” he says. Gene editing and GMOs are funda mentally different technologies, and Pairwise tested a different approach by putting a product directly in front of con sumers. During early sampling efforts, the company distributed thousands of serv ings of its greens and gathered feedback in real time. “We went to some fairs when we were launching them, and we gave them away to people and told them about the tech nology. I think we gave away about 6,000 salads,” Adams says, noting that almost everyone ate the salad. For Adams, the takeaway was simple. The industry spent years trying to win an argument about science when the more appropriate path was putting something good in front of people and letting the product speak for itself. It is a philoso phy that now runs through everything Pairwise brings to market. “So again, I think you lead with the benefits, and it’s about the product, not the technology,” he says. “At the same time, we believe that it’s really important to be transparent about the technology, and to share with people that technology was involved in making the product.” Where the Next Wave of Innovation Is Hiding For Adams, blackberry is not an end point. It is a starting point for a broader shift into permanent crops, where long development timelines and production risks historically have limited innovation. “What we’ve done in blackberries, we now believe we can basically transfer that technology across a lot of the permanent crops,” he says. That includes work in crops such as cherries, where Pairwise is exploring both consumer-facing traits and production changes. Last year, Pairwise announced a joint venture with Sun World to develop the world’s first pitless cherry. “We’re working on cherry now to make it pitless,” Adams says. “But, we’re also turning cherry trees into bushes, so you can grow them under hoop houses any where in the world, rather than having to grow them in places where it doesn’t rain.” The implications are not small. In many perennial systems, time to profitability is one of the biggest barriers to adoption. At the same time, regulatory alignment continues to shape how quickly these innovations move. Many regions, including the European Union, are making positive progress. Adams points to differences across regions as a key factor, particularly for globally traded crops. “The United States, Canada and many countries in South America, have all aligned on how they regulate the prod uct, not the process,” he says. “When we look at what slowed down the big acre crops, those are all globally traded, and the slowest system tends to slow down the way that things get into commerce.” Beyond product development, Pairwise is also working to expand access to the underlying technology through licensing. The company is making its Fulcrum® CRISPR tools available to a range of partners across agriculture. This includes Mars, Enza Zaden, Ball Horticulture, and many universities, national science institutes and global non profit organizations. “The idea is that technology should not be the barrier to what we need to achieve,” Adams says. “Agriculture is huge, and there’s no reason for all of this capability to sit in one company’s hands, but to get it out as broadly as possible.” That approach points to a broader shift in how gene editing may take shape across the industry. Not just as a tool used by a few, but as a capability that spreads across crops, regions and use cases. For Adams, the core objective remains unchanged, even as the applications expand. “It’s really stuck with this point of trying to make plants easier to grow and easier to eat,” he says. SW “The idea is that technology should not be the barrier to what we need to achieve. Agriculture is huge, and there’s no reason for all of this capability to sit in one company’s hands, but to get it out as broadly as possible.” —Tom Adams Seedless blackberries aim to improve the eating experience while maintaining performance for growers. PHOTO: PAIRWISE
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