Abstract: Mankind applies biotechnology already for thousands of years. Until the last century, fermentation processes for producing beer, wine, bread, soy sauces and other food products were the main application in the agri - food area.The elucidation of the structure and role of DNA and RNA in living organisms since the past 50 years has created a revolution in biotechnology, resulting in two key technological developments:1) Genetic modification by gene technology2) New rapid and multiple analytical tools; the latest developments being based on genomics. In this presentation I will discuss:- progress in genetic modification and the issue of public acceptance- application of genomic based technologies in the agri - food field- examples of joint biotechnology projects of my TNO institute with partners in China- biotechnology in cereal science and technology