CRISPR Technology in Agriculture: Applications, Challenges, and Bioethical Considerations

The growing global food demand in agriculture, mitigating the effects of climate change, and creating sustainable production systems have necessitated the application of modern biotechnology. In recent years, CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology has been in the spotlight as one of the most promising approaches in the field of gene editing. This technology allows for highly precise changes in plant and animal genomes, thereby increasing productivity, quality, and potential uses in animal husbandry. In addition, bioethical issues arising from the application of the technology, possible impacts on ecological balance, protection of biodiversity, consumer acceptance, animal welfare, and current problems related to the regulation of genetically modified organisms are discussed.