Dear Friends,

“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” –Henry David Thoreau

Thanksgiving Day approaches. What a pleasure it is once again to thank you for your encouragement and support of the Danforth Center.

Twenty years ago, through the work of many people, the Danforth Center came into being. It was the same time that the Euro was invented and a website called “Google” was launched. St. Louis was an excellent place to make the most of plant science.

Danforth Center scientists have made remarkable progress in understanding plants and how they can be improved. We know these discoveries can address the world’s growing need for food, nutrition, and energy—while preserving and renewing our environment. And the Center is moving this emerging knowledge into the marketplace quickly, through collaboration and partnership (including 39 North, the new 600-acre ag-tech innovation district anchored by the Danforth Center).

While we celebrate the Thanksgiving season with abundance and feasting, many people around the world do not have enough to eat. We will need to produce more food in the decades ahead than in all of previous human history. These are daunting challenges, but we have reason to be optimistic.

I am grateful to you for your support of the Danforth Center. You make my Thanksgiving like Thoreau’s seem perpetual. Happy Thanksgiving and a joyous holiday season to you and your loved ones!

Yours sincerely,

William H. Danforth
Founding Chairman
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center