The terms "culture" and "nature" have ambiguous meanings in most Western societies. Culture is used to denote the totality of socially transmitted customs and behavior patterns of a given society as well as to denote the cultivation of plants or microorganisms in a petri dish. Nature is used to refer to those aspects of the world that are beyond us as well as to that which is taken for granted as "natural" or normal. This ambiguity is particularly well reflected in current debates about plant biotechnology and germplasm conservation.The thesis of this paper is that the nature/culture distinction has outlived its usefulness. The new biotechnologies illustrate in the most dramatic of ways how we make and remake nature, while the issues surrounding germplasm conservation show that we have been collectively engaged in making nature for thousands of years. Thus, nature is not natural; it is a product of culture. Put another way, nature is always cultured. Similarly, culture is a product of nature; it is natural in its origins if not in its content.