b'A test loaf from an industrial bread oven at the California Wheat Commission quality lab, where flour milled from the edited wheat varieties is evaluated for dough strength and baking performance. PHOTO: CALIFORNIA WHEAT COMMISSIONBread made fromConnecting Different Parts of the Food Chainexperimental wheatConstance Gewa, FFAR scientific program lines with reduceddirector, echoes Geller\'s urgency. She explains alpha-gliadin proteinsthat gluten reactions can so severely damage (top row) compared tothe digestive system that patients have trouble the control lineabsorbing nutrients. Many develop anemia or (bottom row). Despiteother nutrient deficiencies, made worse by the lower levels of thestrict diet they must follow.reactive glutenWheat varieties that reduce these immune fractions associatedresponses could help break this cycle and support with celiac responses,healthier diets without giving up traditional foods.the edited wheatGewa says FFAR backed the gluten-editing maintained loafproject because it aligns with their mandate and structure and volumeimpact goals. Established in the 2014 Farm Bill to during baking trials.contact with gluten because everything is madeincrease public agricultural research investments, PHOTO: UC DAVIS from safer wheat. That kind of freedom is as hugefill knowledge gaps and complement USDA\'s as it gets." research agenda, FFAR prioritizes work that can The Celiac Disease Foundation provided theimprove human health through food and agricul-initial funding for the study, recognizing it as atural innovation.needed counterbalance to drug research.Gewa says they fund research with potential "We\'re investing in patient recruitment forimpact, looking for scientific rigor, strong partner-drugs, but we\'re also hedging our bets and seeingships, and a clear pathway to real-world useall what we can do with the wheat," Geller says.qualities they saw in this study."Either way, we get something to market that willIn addition, she says that FFAR evaluates be better for people with celiac disease and wheatresearch for how well it connects different parts of allergies." the food system.38/ SEEDWORLD.COMJANUARY 2026'