Van Eck doesn’t think that consumers have any reason to be wary of CRISPR-modified crops. But with this crop, as with many others that have clear benefits to humans, Van Eck predicts that people will still be resistant. “When it’s a [genetic] modification made in the lab versus one made in the field, there’s still this bias, and that’s where the emotional part comes in,” she says. “People perceive it as an emotional issue.”

DuPont plans to commercialize its maize within the next five years. That might make it the first CRISPR-modified crop to hit the market, but it has some stiff competition—earlier this week, Swedish researchers served up the first-ever meal made from CRISPR-modified crops, though the researchers didn't mention when they might expect their crops to become commercially available.