Why Farmers Are Planting Roundup-Ready Biotech Sugar Beets

In 2008, biotech sugar beets that are genetically modified to resist herbicides such as Roundup will be in use by a number of American sugar beet growers. That means no more hand weeding or cultivating or multiple applications of herbicides. But what do genetically modified sugar beets really mean to farmers, consumers and the environment?

Having grown up in Minnesota, I'm very familiar with the many changes - usually improvements - in virtually every aspect of cropland farming. One of the latest to come about is the widespread use of what's called Roundup Ready sugar beets. The more technical terms for these sugar beets are biotech, transgenic or genetically modified (GM). What this means is that the DNA of the sugar beet seed is altered or genetically modified to have a built-in resistance to Roundup, a well-known herbicide manufactured by Monsanto.

Many of us have experienced using Roundup to kill some unsightly weed, only to accidentally overspray and kill something we didn't intend to kill. With transgenic seeds, the sugar beet plant won't be affected when the crop is sprayed with Roundup or a similar herbicide. The weeds will die, but the sugar beets will be unharmed.

In the case of sugar beets, conventionally grown beets require several small applications of herbicides for weed control, to diminish damage to the beet plant. Because of this, the farmer makes more passes through the field with heavy equipment, burning fuel and compacting the soil. With Roundup Ready plants, just one trip through the field will control the weeds. As one local farmer put it, "Typically, a farmer might spray three or four times a year, but it can be up to five. With Roundup Ready (beets), we have more of an opportunity to kill weeds without injury to the beets."

I'm familiar with a time when laborers walked the sugar beet fields, pulling weeds by hand. However, most farmers know that hand weeding is no longer feasible because of labor shortages and the "increasing hassles of playing cat-and-mouse games with immigration authorities," one unnamed source said when asked why hand weeding was no longer an option for him.

There's no doubt that sugar beet farmers are happy about genetically modified seeds. Roundup Ready beets mean less herbicides are applied and fewer trips are made through the fields, something that helps both growers and the environment. But what about consumers and the final product from these transgenic seeds and plants?

There continues to be debate and contradictory reports when it comes to genetically modified crops of all kinds. But according to a Southern Minnesota Beat Sugar Cooperative (SMBSC) online article entitled "Other views: Roundup Ready Sugar Same as Any Other Sugar," written by sugar beet grower Robert Green, there is no difference between sugar from transgenic sugar beets and sugar from conventionally grown beets. In fact, Green asserts, sugar is pure and natural and has the same nutritional value and composition, regardless of the source. He states that this has been determined to be true by both independent scientific analyses and regulatory agencies around the world. The article states that biotech crops have been safely used for more than 10 years, and ingredients from genetically modified crops are already in many of the foods we all eat each and every day.

Others have a different point of view. The Truth About Trade & Technology website has a Feb. 1, 2008, article entitled "Organic Seed Company Joins Lawsuit Against GMO Sugar Beets." The article says a lawsuit has been filed in federal court by a Vermont organic seed company in an attempt to stop the use of biotech sugar beets. The lawsuit claims, for one thing, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture failed to fully examine the environmental impact of biotech crops before approving the sale of genetically modified seeds. It also claims Roundup Ready seeds will lead to herbicide-resistant crops and even more application of chemicals to address super hardy weeds. There is also concern of windblown cross-pollinating between transgenic sugar beets and organic sugar beets, negatively affecting organic sugar beet crops. The status of the lawsuit was unclear.

In the meantime, the debate rages on. No doubt biotech sugar beets are a good thing for sugar beat growers. For consumers and the environment, time and experience will tell.

Resources:

Article, SMBSC, "Other views: Roundup Ready Sugar Same as Any Other Sugar" written by Robert Green on 1/2/08; http://www.smbsc.com/view_article.php?id=1502

Article, Truth About Trade & Technology, "Organic Seed Company Joins Lawsuit Against GMO Sugar Beets written 2/1/08; http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=8846