Genetically modified crops and sustainable agriculture: A proposed way forward in the societal debate

A global challenge for the coming decades is to feed the world in a sustainable way. This will require major steps forward across the food production chain, including plant breeding, farming practices, and storage and logistics. Sustainable agriculture requires the implementation of agro-ecological and agronomic knowledge and methods in combination with optimal plant material, optimal in the sense that it is most suitable for a certain place, in a particular farming system, and in relation to market demand. To breed such plant varieties plant breeders need to employ the largest toolkit possible [1]. Among the wide array of tools available to the breeder, genetic modification (GM) receives most attention in public debates on sustainability. In Europe, practically the only GM crop sown, Bt MON810 maize, was grown on 114,000 ha (