Page 75 - Breeding and regulatory opportunities, Renaud

Seed Regulation in the US

instruments such as clear regulatory language, mandatory member state

databases, expert groups to oversee and guide exception allowances and

funding schemes to stimulate organic seed production and breeding (Döring et

al., 2012). Most recently, guidelines for organic variety development have been

developed for those breeders that aim to distinguish themselves in the market

that list breeding techniques that are considered to be non-compliant with

organic values, e.g. in-vitro techniques and cytoplasmic male sterility derived

through protoplast fusion (IFOAM, 2012). The advancement towards regulatory

clarity, coordinated governance and organisation of the capacity of the organic

seed sector in the EU, compared to the US, would give rise to a new trade issue

between the EU, the U.S. and other jurisdictions if organic growers in the U.S.

continue to be allowed to use conventional seed (Renaud et al., 2014). This issue

is emerging as a shared regulatory concern.

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