Some firms have presented the new technologies of genetic manipulation as an occasion for humanity to put an end to malnutrition. This was to be obtained thanks to the development of agricultural production which they were supposed to lead. The current controversy is not the sign of archaic oppositions to progress; on the contrary, it offers one more occasion to remind one of certain unavoidable realities concerning agricultural policy. First, the priority remains for each country for themselves both on quality and quantity levels without expecting the solution from imported products from more competitive countries. Secondly, the farmers can't use new techniques except in a favourable context both economic and political. Lastly, humanity's genetic patrimony has been a collective one up to now; for it to be privatized would be a dangerous move.