Summary of the 5th International Conference on Modern Technologies Reshaping the Global Food Industry Hold by EFKO
Over 400 guests and experts. An alley of food presenting contemporary solutions in nutrition: functional drinks with vitamins and minerals, vegetable and protein snacks, fruit puree, snacks with Hi! plant-based meat, candies, and ice cream made with sweet-tasting protein. Traditional Speed Dating – a format for quick business networking. And, of course, a robust business agenda.
Artificial intelligence is actively entering all spheres of our lives. The future is approaching faster than we can keep up with the changes. Speed is one of AI's main advantages over human abilities.
It increases efficiency, automates routine processes, and improves quality of life. But what is the downside, if there is any? What does the near future hold for us, and what kind of world are we already living in?
Entrepreneurs and scientists discussed the most interesting trends of today and the key challenges at the Deep Food Tech – 2026 conference.
EFKO Executive Director
Sergei Ivanov
Sergei Ivanov
«Every year we collect analytics and try to analyze what new solutions science offers for our industry. The major breakthroughs began just over 20 years ago with the decoding of the human genome. Today we live in the biotech era revolution. Just a few years ago, a genetic designer was a fantasy. Now, this is already the world of tomorrow. Modern startups are introducing ideas that completely overturn our understanding of living matter. Which technologies will soon possess the humanity? Genetic engineering of endangered animal species, a platform for sped-up adaptive selection, preventive medicine, tools for genetic backup. We are seeing more and more ways to feed the planet without hurting the environment. And artificial intelligence is acting as the main assistant. How is humanity's intellectual resource base changing today? What is the role of a scientist in the AI era? What challenges and opportunities does this technology open up? These are the themes we discuss at the fifth Deep Food Tech».
AI offers opportunities to improve the world and affects all spheres of our lives. New technologies let us peer back 40,000 years and convert a modern human cell into one from a Neanderthal. We can design, accelerate, and influence evolution. Many AI capabilities are widely available and help find answers to questions in just seconds. The world has split into two teams – skeptics and enthusiasts. No matter what team you are on, you cannot deny the massive impact of AI. Ultimately, the future depends on our choices and actions in the present. Will we build a society in which AI technologies serve only the benefit of humans and the environment. The conference's business agenda helped Deep Food Tech participants to explore AI through the lenses of food tech, medicine, genetics, crop production, and animal husbandry.
Director of the Center for Biomedical Research and Technologies, Institute of AI and Digital Sciences, HSE University
Maria Poptsova
Maria Poptsova
«Google's Technical Director Ray Kurzweil is known for his predictions of the future. Roughly 80% of his predictions turn out to be true. He has spent many years writing books about the coming singularity. It's about the fact that at some time point all AI technologies will merge with humans, marking the passage through the singularity — after which, perhaps, eternal life or eternal youth will be achieved. Also from his predictions: by 2036, humanity will for the first time manage to program cells to treat diseases, and the use of 3D printers will allow growing new tissues and organs. In 2037, a breakthrough is expected in understanding the mystery of the human brain. Some algorithms will be deciphered and included in the neural networks of computers. And here we mean the programs and algorithms of the genetic computer».
Director of the Institute of Biology of Aging and Head of the Department of Applied Mathematics at Lobachevsky University (National Research University Nizhny Novgorod named after N.I. Lobachevsky)
Mikhail Ivanchenko
Mikhail Ivanchenko
«If we talk about managing human health – specifically health as an assessment of the prerequisites for various pathologies – we shall be able to measure it. Therefore, of course, the development of biological age models is important. They shall be transparent and explainable. We need evidence-based longitudinal studies examining the effects of the proposed interventions. And with this, a personalized approach to each person».
Leader of the Project 'Epigenetic Editing as a New Tool for Genomic Medicine' at the Science and Technology University Sirius, Director of the Institute of Biomedicine at Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
Egor Prokhorchuk
Egor Prokhorchuk
«If scientists were to change not only the epigenetic profile, but also the human genome itself, what are the challenges and benefits of such experiments? The main dangers are associated with the high risk of error in technology. Suppose you correct one gene to treat some disease, but with this one correction you break the entire immune system. Now let's imagine that we have created a CRISPR-Cas genome editing technology with zero errors. Suppose, even if the editing accuracy is 100%, the risks are minimized. Still, a great many questions arise. What is improvement or the creation of a superhuman? What is the criterion? What do you want to develop? What is good? This will always be shaped by the social environment you are in. And it is already impossible to 'un-edit' anything; you cannot rethink it. You cannot turn this story back».
Videos of all conference presentations will be published on the Deep Food Tech website and on EFKO's official channels on VKontakteand MAX messenger.