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This paper examines the conflict between developed countries and developing countries as regards traditional seeds. Most WTO agreements are the result of the 1986-94 Uruguay Round negotiations, which was signed at the Marrakesh ministerial meeting of April 1994. They include the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which was imposed under pressure from the US and the EU. This agreement is the first to seriously deal with plant variety rights. It specifies that plant varieties must be protected either by patents or by a sui generis system (such as breeders' rights provided for by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Convention. Article 27 of the Convention makes patent protection available to all plant varieties. However, this model had been criticized as regards plants since the 1950s. As a result, a new and specific protection program was adopted by a UPOV agreement in 1961. Notwithstanding Article 13 (on plant variety rights) and for the purpose of safeguarding agricultural production, farmers were allowed to use seeds for propagating purposes in their own fields or for propagating material shared with others farmers. Moreover, authorization by the breeder was not required either for the utilization of a new variety as an initial source of variation or for the purpose of creating new varieties, which was a marked difference with protection by patents. Although the TRIPS Agreement does not expressly mention the patent model, most least-developed countries (LDCs) and developing countries chose the patent or UPOV system as a result of a lack of own judicial tradition and finance of their own. In 1991, the UPOV model was changed to the disadvantage of farmers. More recently, LDCs and developing countries began to organize with the aim of modifying variety plant protection from within the multilateral WTO system. It is now easier for them to press their case in this forum. Moreover, developing countries have more recently been considerably more active in WTO negotiations, submitting an unprecedented number of proposals, especially in the area of agriculture. They now have greater confidence in the WTO, where they enjoy a better bargaining position. However, the US and the EU are multiplying bilateral plant protection treaties because these enhance their leverage power so as to enable them to impose TRIPS+ agreements or UPOV 1991. Since the ministerial declarations and decisions issued in Doha, in particular on drugs, developing countries have tried to react and impose the Agreement on Biodiversity in WTO negotiations. The on-going erosion of genetic biodiversity has decreased the intra-specific genetic diversity of many crops. This is due to the fact that ancient varieties are being replaced by modern varieties with higher yields and wider commercialization potential in urban markets. These are the arguments used by developing countries’ arguments. The loss of biodiversity, especially that of traditional varieties, will impact on the food security of the world's poorest people. Saving seeds is a customary practice of indigenous and local communities that guarantees access to vital foodstuffs at all times. If the control of these seeds shifts into the hands of multinationals, community food security will be undermined. Food security can only be achieved if it is conceived within a framework that fosters food autonomy and keeps control of food production systems within local and indigenous communities.