In the agriculture industry, only a handful of companies own the rights of a few strains of crops. This monopoly over the agriculture space results in abusive behavior from companies, threatening lawsuits against farmers and engaging in unethical conduct. However, with the advent of cheap alternatives to gene editing, this monopolization could soon come to an end. The expensive process of utilizing agrobacterium-mediated transformation of plants is being replaced by the cheaper, more percise method of CRISPR editing. Not only is this a cheaper and more accurate alternative, but CRISPR modification of crops will not necessarily require the GMO label on the final product-a label that many consumers shy away from. Because of this, small agriculture companies and startups, such as Inari in Boston, will soon be able to compete with the likes of Bayer, and make edited crops a more competitive business.
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