EP 12: A CRISPR Food Future

Did you know it has been over 30 years since genetically modified crops were introduced for consumption? In this episode, guest Dr. Haven Baker joins us to talk about a relatively new form of gene editing technology called Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR. Listen in to find out how CRISPR repairs faulty genes, benefits farmers, improves crop diversity, and more.

Haven Baker co-founded Pairwise and serves as Chief Business Officer. Haven is the former Senior Vice President / General Manager of Simplot Plant Sciences, where he led the team that launched the innovative, non-browning Innate® potato. He holds a PhD in chemistry from Northeastern University, an MBA from Harvard University, and a BS in biomedical engineering from Yale University.

Bruce Perkin is the principal scientist and operator of Robust Food Solutions LLC, a food science-based consultancy that has operated since 2017, providing strategic advice and hands-on support to food businesses in the areas of quality systems and food safety, innovation, product development, and organizational design.

Bruce is a Certified Food Scientist, a Certified HACCP practitioner, and is a Certified Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence through the American Society for Quality. He is also a Preventative Controls Qualified Individual under the FSMA regulations. He has completed Food Defense training through the FDA and the FSPCA. Bruce is a past Chairperson of the Dallas /Fort Worth chapter of IFT, and also a past Chair of the Food Service Division of IFT. In addition, Bruce is a part-time Adjunct Professor at Texas Womens’ University teaching NPD, Food Science and Food Safety to Culinology students.