CRISPR technology, which is widely used for plant genome editing, will accelerate the breeding of food crops beyond what was imaginable before its development. Here we provide a brief overview of CRISPR technology, its most important applications for crop improvement and several technological breakthroughs. We also make predictions of the applications of CRISPR technology to food crops, which we believe would provide the potential for synthetic biology and domestication of crops. We also discuss the implications of regulatory policy for deployment of the technology in the developing world.