We are concerned that the debate that is currently taking place on this subject is venturing into hazardous territory. We are concerned that it could lead to a radical reappraisal of everything that has been done in breeding and selection for many years throughout the seed industry by branding as "non natural" all the commonly accepted and widely practiced breeding methods and techniques that have made possible the progress of the last many years.

The consumers who want to buy organic products should have access to products whose organic labels truthfully reflect stringent and carefully monitored production processes, devoid of specific substances or molecules, whereby such processes often lead to products that are more expensive than similar conventional products because of lower yields. Our role is to deliver to the farmers organically produced seed, i.e. seed that has been grown according to strict guidelines, without the use of chemical protectants, and that has not been treated.

We believe that going beyond that into the realm of "organic breeding" would be opening a Pandora's box without any upside for the quality of the products but with very negative impact on production costs, and that it could bring discredit upon the time honored methods which in the past have enabled our industry to meet the demands of an exploding world population and will hopefully enable us to meet future requirements.