Profit From Gene Editing in 2018

A few months ago, my dog chewed through the electrical cord on my fridge.

Before you get riled up and call PETA, know she is fine. Destroying expensive electronics is actually her favorite hobby.

The food in my fridge, however, was not so lucky.

I didn’t realize what she had done until two days after the fact, when the smell of rotting food became overwhelming.

At this point we reach the conclusion of my story, where I put $50 worth of slimy groceries in the garbage.

Now, this event taught me a lot of things, including the importance of proper dog training. However, my key takeaway was that we waste a lot of food in this country.

Me essentially shoveling money into the garbage made me think about exactly how much money and food Americans waste annually. A relatively small amount of research yielded some wallet-draining statistics.

The average American spends around $150 on food a week.

Of that amount, one-third will be wasted. And as food gathers in landfills, 9.1 million people will die of starvation a year.

Like me, you now may feel a bit guilty.

But my job is to be a researcher, so I researched solutions, and there are a few.

It turns out that dozens of companies are working to solve food waste and hunger. Out of these companies, one really stood out.

This company is a small biotech that is using gene editing to improve the foods we eat. If this company is successful, it could alter the way we look at food and make investors a profit in the process.

I want to talk a bit more about that company in a minute, but first, let’s take a second to talk about gene editing.

Gene editing may be the most important scientific discovery of our lifetime, and when you apply it to food, it could fix multiple problems, from food waste to bad nutrition.

First Off, What is Gene Editing?

Gene editing, put simply, is when DNA is deleted, inserted, or replaced in a genome.

If that doesn’t sound simple, just think of it like this: You are snipping away a piece of genetic code and replacing it with something else. In my mind, I imagine it like a large Lego structure. Instead of changing the blocks themselves, you are changing the directions. The structure that is built as a result is still altered. 

That’s pretty incredible, which is why it comes as no surprise that gene editing has been generating a lot of buzz lately.

And while humans have been fascinated with gene editing since the 1970s, only recently have we gotten close to making major breakthroughs in the field.

We are close to this food breakthrough because of a revolutionary gene editing method called CRISPR-Cas9.

With CRISPR-Cas9, we could potentially wipe out multiple diseases, including HIV and cancer. Some scientists even believe CRISPR can stop aging in its tracks.

And this gene editing method isn’t just for humans anymore.

In theory, the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing method can also be applied to food, improving it for the better.

And the company that has access to this patent for modifying food could change the way we look at food forever.

How Gene Editing Can Be Used in Food

Gene editing can alter our food in many ways, all of which could make food better suited for the needs of our growing population.

First off, gene editing could make food last longer and survive different conditions.

No longer would I have to worry about my dog unplugging food storage devices. With gene editing, some fruits could possibly survive longer without refrigeration.

Longer-lasting foods could reduce food waste significantly. So, American households rejoice — maybe that $150-a-week bill will be getting a reduction.

Which brings us to another point: Gene editing can make food more affordable.

That’s right. Gene editing can make crops grow faster and in different environments. This would make food available to a wider population, and it could potentially cut down on the cost of food transportation. That’s a winner for your pockets and for the environment.

And then there is the big way gene editing will change food: eliminating the need for pesticides.

Currently, most of the food you eat has been exposed to pesticides at one point. Whether those pesticides are in the soil or sprayed directly onto the crops, they are usually present.

Specific pesticides have been linked to multiple cancers, meaning they shouldn’t be consumed.

But in our current food system, and because of large suppliers like Monsanto, getting food without pesticides is challenging.

But with gene editing, we could alter foods so farmers no longer have to use pesticides. This could help humans combat diseases the second food enters our body, minimizing cancer risk from the start.

So, How Do We Get There?

In reality, it might be a while before we have food modified with the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing method sitting in our fridges.

That said, the future always comes faster than we think.

If investors want to start profiting from CRISPR-Cas9 technology, the time is now.

You will recall that I mentioned a small biotech stock at the start of this article. The company behind that stock is working to engineer foods using the CRISPR-Cas9 patent, making it one of the first in the field.

In the coming weeks, we are going to be talking more about gene editing at Wealth Daily.

That conversation will culminate with a top-notch presentation on this small biotech from our senior technology analyst Jason Stutman. Jason has been working with companies pioneering the gene editing space for years.

I guarantee his presentation will show you how to profit from this gene editing revolution.

While you wait for his presentation, you can listen to him talk more about the technology on the latest episode of our Investing After Hours podcast.

In the meantime, remember to keep an eye on the future. We are now officially in 2018, and it is an exciting time to be an investor.

Despite rumors that our current bull market will come to an end, many technology industries are alive and striving.

Outside of gene editing, we are keeping an eye on blockchain, artificial intelligence, and digital currencies. We plan to stay on these topics heading into 2018.

Best of luck with a whole new year of investments,

Alexandra Perry

@AlexandraPerryC on Twitter

Alexandra Perry is a contributing analyst for Wealth Daily and Energy and Capital. She has multiple years of experience working with startup companies, primarily focusing on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, alternative energy, and biotech. Her take on investing is simple: a new age of investor can make monumental returns by investing in emerging industries and foundational startup ventures.