Sow, don't tell. The meaning of nature and technology in Dutch seed breeders’ communication strategies

Abstract

Traditionally, the Netherlands has always been fertile ground for plant/vegetable seed breeding business. Many of the world’s largest seed producing companies are in fact Dutch family-owned businesses. Seed breeding is not only a profitable business, it is also a fascinating hybrid between nature and technology. Especially with public discussions about genetically modified organisms( GMOs) in the 1990s and 2000s, this tension has become extremely visible. In my opinion, these discussions are only the tip of the iceberg. My thesis will illustrate how Dutch seed breeders have dealt with the ‘discursive dilemma’ in general, and during the European ‘rise and fall’ of genetic modification technology in particular. I have looked at internal and external communication channels including sales catalogues, corporate communication and press coverage of two of the Netherlands’ largest independent seed companies: Bejo and Rijk Zwaan. Did they present their activities as highly technological, or as purely natural? Both could be justified.

It turns out that the focus on naturalness is only a very recent one, probably in part motivated by the societal backlash regarding GMOs. Another conclusion will be that the breeding companies have been strikingly absent in public and political debates about genetic modification, and that it was never a controversial topic in the sector before the general public became aware of it. I will argue that in order to become more visible and be prepared for future controversies, Dutch seed breeding companies should invest more in their external communication strategies, and become as transparent as possible.