April 2023 - 14

DUETS
my tracks by stating that what we
consider a small farm here is a huge
farm in sub-Saharan Africa. Oh boy,
we all need to appreciate different
perspectives, right?
Sarah: Indeed, Peter. Diverse
perspectives are so important. I
have learned a lot from Patricia, for
example, about the many and varied
ways of preparing groundnut (peanut)
or the ways of cooking bananas as an
alternative savory starch. I've learned
to appreciate different legumes from
around the world, like the cowpeas
my friends in Nigeria love or the many
pulses consumed by my friends in
India. There's so much to appreciate
and learn about the nutritious foods
being consumed in different corners of
the world.
But we all have to work together
to ensure that everyone has access
to nutritious foods and can afford
that choice. I serve on the advisory
board of the Healthier Rice Project -
a project using biotechnology to
increase the nutrition of rice. Rice is
such an important source of calories
for billions of people around the world.
It, however, lacks many micronutrients
that are essential for proper growth
and development - nutrients like
iron, zinc, and beta carotene. It's
important to help ensure that the
tools of biotechnology are applied to
improve the lives of all people around
the world. There is still so much work
to do!
Peter: The challenge we face in
feeding the world's population can
feel daunting with so much work to
do, but we are making progress. While
you are no longer directly involved
with the Alliance for Science program,
what would a progress report look like
at this time?
Sarah: Since we launched the
Alliance in 2014, we have seen a real
shift in public perceptions around
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APRIL 2023 GPNMAG.COM
biotechnology. In the years leading
up to the pandemic, the conversation
became increasingly favorable. In
2020, it reached an all-time high.
People understood that biotechnology
played an important role in the
rapid development of our effective,
life-saving vaccines and began to
appreciate the role that biotech
could also play in helping us address
other challenges outside of human
medicine, such as improving our food
system and mitigating and adapting
to climate change.
Today, as I am sure you can
appreciate Peter, we are living in a very
different environment where people -
especially young people - are excited
about food-tech, from applications
in fermentation, alternative proteins,
controlled environment agriculture,
to the role of CRISPR. People realize
that we need new tools to address
the enormous challenges that are
before us. The tools of agricultural
biotechnology are so critical to
improving the lives of people and
the planet.
Peter: I explain the evolution of
biotechnology to fellow growers using
a power tool analogy. Most of us
grew up working with hand-powered
hammers, screwdrivers and saws.
These tools then evolved into corded
power versions, and today their
cordless counterparts are powered by
high-tech batteries. But I still keep my
hand tools - hammer, screwdrivers
and saws - in my tool cabinet.
New biotechnology tools allow
plant breeders to work faster and
more precisely to release new crop
cultivars compared to traditional plant
breeding. And just like with my tools,
traditional breeding will remain in use
and be complemented by the new
biotechnology to leverage speed
and efficiency.
Congratulations on your
contribution as the founding director
of the Alliance. It must have been
difficult to leave your work in the
public sector on one level and exciting
to move to the private sector on
another. Tell us more about Pairwise:
its mission, vision and how you're
contributing to the effort.
Sarah: Now, let me tell you about
what motivated my move to Pairwise.
For over 20 years, we've been talking
about how we need to apply the
tools of agricultural biotechnology
to develop products that have direct
benefits to consumers. The first
generation of ag biotech products
mostly benefited the people who
produce our food, which is extremely
important. Those benefits included
benefits to the environment (like
reduced insecticide use) and also
helped ensure that we had a safe and
affordable food supply.
However, as less than 2% of the
population is involved in the growing
of our food, most of us didn't feel the
direct benefits of ag biotechnology. The
burdensome and restrictive regulatory
environment that surrounded ag
biotech meant too few players could
use the tools to innovate for impact
and too few crops benefited. But today,
new ag-tech tools have come online
that are opening up new opportunities.
Peter: I see a similarity in your desire
to apply agricultural knowledge to the
world's farmers and consumers. Both
of us spent part of our careers in the
university setting and then chose to
move to the private sector to get closer
to where agriculture is practiced. My
move was to the family farm; yours
is to Pairwise. Both of us lean in to
educating growers and you add the
dimension of educating consumers.
Sarah: When I learned about
Pairwise, their mission drive to
improve diets and their goal to use
CRISPR to innovate in fruits and
vegetables, I was super excited.
Here was a fun, dynamic startup
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April 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2023
