We support agricultural biotechnology as one of the solutions to growing safe, affordable, nutritious and accessible food for the world.  With improved approaches to managing agricultural biotechnology in global supply chains, food and feed will be available to meet the demands and choices of producers, processors, food and feed manufacturers, and consumers.

We see agricultural biotechnology as a powerful tool that may help raise living standards around the world. We use our capacity for sourcing, identity preservation and logistics to give customers a choice, and an opportunity to access the products they want – whether genetically modified or traditional. A good example of successful management of agricultural biotechnology is our Signature Growers™ program. It enables specialty producers to link up with users of their grain. The program begins by designating select hybrid seeds and partnering on a preservation process – from planting to delivery – to meet customer needs.

Customer choice

We will continue to accept and market most genetically enhanced crops, conventionally bred crops and specialty grains.  We also believe our customers and suppliers should be free to choose whether to use agricultural biotechnology products.  We provide solutions that meet all of our customers’ needs, and in the process, help them create value. 

The key to delivering on these commitments is through communication and dialog between us, our supplier producers and our end customers.

Regulation

We support science-based safety and environmental regulation of biotechnology and recognize that consumer preferences and variations in producer use will ultimately determine demand.

As agricultural biotechnology is increasingly applied in production agriculture and biotech products become part of the food and feed supply chains, some governments have implemented regulatory frameworks.  While national frameworks have created additional complexity in the global food and feed supply chains, these frameworks ensure that risk assessment and risk management policies are addressed before genetically enhanced varieties can be used in national food and feed supply chains. 

Commercialization

We oppose the commercialization of new genetically enhanced products prior to regulatory approvals in major export markets.

Commercialization without major market approvals negatively impacts the increasingly globalized food chain, potentially disrupting trade, damaging brands and imposing burdensome and costly testing on downstream stakeholders.

Zero tolerance policies

The potential for the unintended mixing of impurities within grain, feed and food is well recognized and widely understood in international trade. Fortunately, numerous grain and grain product standards exist to account for the incidental low-level presence of unintended materials.  We believe that a zero tolerance policy for a low-level presence of authorized agricultural biotechnology products is not a viable risk management approach.

It is a commercial reality that low-level presence of unintended materials is likely to occur despite the application of good agricultural and manufacturing practices by operators. 

We encourage markets to develop risk management policies for low-level presence – aligned with international food safety standards, such as Codex Alimentarius, which will enable them to move away from zero tolerance and minimize disruptions in trade.