APEC Economies Turn to Biotechnology to Strengthen Food Security

As severe weather, from extreme heat to floods and trade disruptions strain global food supply, APEC economies are advancing agricultural biotechnologies including genome editing to help keep food on people’s tables.

Agricultural biotechnologies have been around for decades, due to their ability to strengthen crops and livestock against changing weather and diseases. Now, they are increasingly being shaped to meet the region's changing dietary needs, helping food systems keep pace with growing populations.

At the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology held in Dalian earlier this week, experts discussed new innovations and strengthened safety principles for genome technologies, tools that edit an organism's genetic code to change specific traits.

“Agricultural biotechnologies such as transgenics, gene-editing and synthetic biology have opened a new era of scientific and technological transformation,” said Li Xin Hai, Chair of the dialogue.

“With the development in artificial intelligence these technologies provide new solutions for food security, addressing climate change and promoting sustainable agricultural development,” Li added.

Across the dialogue, economies demonstrated how precision breeding, where specific genes are edited rather than crossbreeding over generations, is already producing tangible results with adoption spreading across different fruits, vegetables and meat. 75 percent of global soybeans planted are already from genome modified varieties as farmers gain higher yields from stronger and more bacteria resistant crops.

Experts reported on how new genome technology can be used to breed fish such as carps and salmon to have fewer fine bones. This encourages easier consumption and allows for faster industrial processing for 70 percent of freshwater aquacultural products.

Research from China Agricultural University also demonstrated how genome editing could improve drought tolerance, increase productivity with less fertilizer input and strengthen nutritional value.

The International Rice Research Institute highlighted the example of rice modified with lower glycaemic and higher protein levels, allowing for slower sugar release into bloodstreams after consumption, which is crucial for large populations across Asia with diabetes.

Creating better public perception of genome modified food was also a vital part of the dialogue, as it remains a major hurdle as many consumers still view such products as unsafe or unhealthy.

Delegates stressed that closing this gap starts with regulation that is science-based and assessed case-by-case, adapting to new technologies as they emerge. Assessments should cover both food safety and environmental risk at every stage of development, backed by data-driven risk checks and predictable approval timelines to encourage farmers’ adoption while maintaining biosafety.

Beyond regulation, the dialogue also stressed the importance of education and communication to boost consumer confidence in genome modified food.

From accurate and engaging food labelling to virtual reality experiences showing how modification take place and educational public signage, economies emphasized the need to respond to consumer concerns and misinformation through evidence-based communication and proactive outreach.  

“APEC economies differ in development levels, resource endowments and regulatory practices, so it is only natural that we hold different priorities and concerns in agricultural biotechnologies. Yet it is precisely this diversity that renders the exchanges vital and our cooperation necessary,” concluded Li.

Building on more than two decades of dialogue and practical cooperation on agricultural biotechnology, the dialogue builds momentum toward the APEC Food Security Ministerial Meeting in Hangzhou on 25 August, where economies will continue working together on one shared challenge and that is to feed a growing region.