Speaking at the GCXpo 2025 event in Ottawa this week was an honor. While I’ve been fortunate to attend a wide array of #agtech events globally throughout my career, this was a truly unique experience. The event was hosted by Area X.O, Canada’s leading R&D complex for smart mobility, autonomy, connectivity, agri-tech, and defense tech, and supported by the Government of Canada and other visionary public and private sector partners. It was an energizing event because the solutions showcased weren’t theoretical or even early-stage R&D – this event focused on innovation that has proven results that deliver clear benefits to the farmer. While the solutions spanned a wide range of products, there was a common theme: we need regulatory processes that enable innovation efficiently and effectively to best empower farmers with safe, proven solutions to ensure a robust farm economy and global food security. How do we do this? First, our regulatory systems must be based on sound science and focus on risk assessments. The speed of innovation is only increasing and it’s irresponsible to manage regulations based on public opinion. Government regulations must stick to science, which means accepting that in science there are rarely definitive answers. This is why risk-based assessments help guide smart decision making. When we overregulate on low-risk solutions, we drive unintentional consequences of limiting innovation, reducing competition in the market and cutting off access to safe, meaningful solutions. Second, we must think globally. I applaud Canada on its science-based approach to how they regulate gene editing technology. They focus on science-based approaches that evaluate the risk. Canada and several countries have recognized that when edits are made to the natural DNA of the plant, it presents no greater risk that conventional breeding and they are aligning their regulatory systems as such. This is great! But it’s not enough. When it comes to agriculture, we are dealing with grain that moves globally. So, we need governments to work in cooperation with each other to build regulatory systems that work in synchronization remove friction and bottlenecks. Because when the systems don’t work, it’s our farmers who pay the ultimate price. I appreciated having the opportunity to participate in these important discussions on behalf of Inari during the Making Biology Work in Our Favor for Agriculture panel along with Matthew Dahabieh, M. Douglas Baumann, Ingrid Fung, Peggy Sue Deaven and Mahsa Alimi with our outstanding moderator, Megan Malone - CITP / FIBP. I loved hearing about all of the incredible work these companies are doing and I look forward to seeing how farmers in Canada will thrive because of these solutions.
Great job leading with strength and vision this week! 👏
Emily, I also really enjoyed hearing about your and the other teams’ technologies at VIP showcasing. It was a real pleasure to participate in such a thoughtful discussions on regulatory frameworks for biological innovation during the panel, in front of government officials and regulators; helping to spark new thinking on how regulation can support innovators more efficiently... You did an excellent job synthesizing all the ideas, providing even more detail and clarity! great synthesis and thanks for sharing!