Weather in your inbox

Forecast Location

Sign Up

By signing up you agree to the Terms & Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will not regulate the sale of white button mushrooms that have been genetically modified using the CRISPR technique, which may lay the foundation to ending world hunger.

The CRISPR technique alters the DNA of the mushroom, which keeps it from bruising and browning over time like a normal mushroom would. However, because the technique doesn’t introduce any foreign DNA from other organisms, the USDA won’t regulate the modified item.

(More: Outdoor Lighting Can Slow or Reduce Nearsightedness, Study Says)

Foods altered using CRISPR technique have never been sold to or eaten by the public, according to the Washington Post.

Instead of adding DNA to the mushroom, plant scientist Yinong Yang used gene-editing to completely shut off the browning enzyme, allowing it to stay fresh-looking for longer periods of time, according to an MIT article.

Using the CRISPR technique, scientists could be able to create foods capable of surviving droughts, or resisting disease, which would bring us closer to finding a solution for world hunger.

(More: Natural Disasters Cause 8 Million Deaths, $7 Trillion in Damage Since 1900)

Though the public isn’t completely sold on the idea of genetically modified food — nearly 90 percent say they want GMO foods to be labeled and 53 percent refuse to buy GMO foods, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll — Yang has no intent of selling the mushroom without the consent of the Food and Drug Administration.

“We’re not just going to start marketing these mushrooms without FDA approval,” Yang told Science News.

MORE ON WEATHER.COM: Foods at Risk From Climate Change