Roundup Ready sugarbeets in the news again

Sugarbeets are grown on more than 1 million acres in the United States and account for over half of the sugar produced here, the remainder almost entirely coming from sugarcane.  Sugarbeet farmers very quickly adopted Roundup Ready sugarbeets when they became available.  This year, 95% of all sugarbeets planted and soon to be harvested are Roundup Ready, which means that about half the total U.S. sugar supply will be from genetically modified plants.  As of August 13, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White revoked USDA's approval of Monsanto's genetically modified sugarbeets.  His ruling will not affect this year's crop, but may have huge consequences for next year's crop, in that there is a general consensus within the sugarbeet industry that non-modified seed is in very short supply.  Even if non-GMO sugarbeet seed were available, many farmers will likely switch to growing other genetically modified crops, not wanting to or no longer having the equipment to contend with weeds the old fashioned way.

I suspect that the judge's decision has far more to do with concerns about large corporate seed companies having a monopoly on seed than it has to do with dangers associated with genetically modified plants, per se.  After all, much of the food and drugs we consume are from genetically modified organisms, and have been for some time.  Granulated sugar, once fully processed, is nothing more than chemically pure sucrose, devoid of protein, so to make this an issue about consuming a tainted product, really doesn't make any sense.  To be concerned about sugarbeet pollen is just as big of a stretch, considering that the sugarbeet is a biennial crop and does not flower when grown for its sugar.  Good luck to those in the USDA who will be called on to complete a voluminous environmental impact statement for Roundup Ready sugarbeets that couldn't possibly be completed before 2012.

Sugarcane growers have to be happy they aren't in the middle of this controversy.  Besides, this decision stands to further bolster the price of sugar.