roundup ready sugarbeets banned

[rambler]

I appologise to the moderators for another GMO thread, but it does seem to intrest people here.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67D08220100814

As with GMO alfalfa, a judge has temp banned RUR sugar beets for next year.

Unlike the alfalfa ban, this one does have some real implications for us in the USA.

1. The old ways of raising sugar beets required several applications of poorly-working chemicals on the beets, actually using _more_ chemicals, not less.

2. RUP sugar beets are the bulk of the beets grown now; there is not nearly enough conventional seed, not regular herbicide sprays available, to plant next year's crop.

3. Sugar cane production in Hawaii and Florida is being phased out - Hawaii land is being developed; Florida land is being sold to the govt for EPA/ reclaimation projects.

4. This could mean major disruptions in sugar production, if the temp ban is not lifted.

5. Beet sugar production could easily move to other countries south of us, never to return to the USA. It is sad to see more manufaturing & production moved off-shore in this country, as we suffere ecconomic problems.

Whatever your feelings of GMO crops, this is a bad situation for many farmers & an industry in the USA, there is nothing to spread joy here.

I won't argue the GMO stuff again in this thread. Or which companies are only evil. Yadda yadda.

The issues I see are wrecking farms, wrecking farm coops, and moving an industry off-shore. As well as a sugar shortage next year....

As a homesteader, finding sugar next year for canning could be expensive. Many of you don't like corn sugar, which might be all we have left with this ban....

--->Paul

[fishhead]

I can think of at least 3 positive results.

Overall less sugar in the food supply will significantly lower health care costs for the nation.

Also doesn't the US spend a lot of tax dollars to subsidize sugar production?

This will also free up a lot of acreage for food production.

[big rockpile]

Get real less use of Sugar it will never happen.

The world is growing out of control science is working hard to provide and the Goverment wants this but then they turn around and tie their Hands just don't make sence.

big rockpile

[Zephaniah]

What's the problem

High Fructose Corn Syrup!

(said satirically of course)

[Heritagefarm]

Hey, all you GM lovers should go over here, got some good stuff going on:
TES

[haypoint]

IF GMO crops caused more herbicide and pesticide use, required more trips across the field, increased soil compaction, increased the consumption of fuel or reduced the nutritional value of the crop, I'd have to rethink this whole Monsanto thing. but since it does the opposite, I see GMO as a positive advancement.
Does anyone find it interesting that these groups are not the farmers or the scientists, they are always activist groups, sort of the plant version of PETA.

What do I care, I don't grow sugar beets, too bad for those Sugar Beet farmers, but I'll let that fringe group run them out of business. I don't care if farrowing crates are outlawed, I don't raise pigs, to bad for the pig farmers, but I'll let PETA run them out of business. What do I care if environmental regulations drive business out of the US. I'm not a car maker, refrigerator maker or equipment manufacturer, I don't work in a factory. Let the EPA shut them down.
On and on it goes, no one cares, because it isn't them, this time. I seem to recall, from my high school history class, there was a guy in Germany that broke that country down that way, one group at a time. When he got to your group, there wasn't any body there to help, it wasn't their problem.
I know the anti-GMO group used pollen as their straw dog to get alfalfa banned. I wonder what trumped up excuse they used for the ban on sugar beets?
Central America can produce sugar from cane cheaper already. Banning GMO sugar beets will drive up the costs to the farmer, putting him at a further disadvantage. Why don't we send all our food production to other countries? Then we will be free to forage for nuts and berries, as nature intended us to do.

[orangehen]

Are GM sugarbeets any different than GM soybeans? Is it possible that genetically modifiying ANYTHING may be quite harmful in the years to come? I don't trust GM in anything.

Saw an article by Institute for Responsible Technology recently..
http://www.responsibletechnology.org...ctID=4888#hair

Here's just part of the article:

"After feeding hamsters for two years over three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups.

And if this isn't shocking enough, some in the third generation even had hair growing inside their mouths—a phenomenon rarely seen, but apparently more prevalent among hamsters eating GM soy.

The study, jointly conducted by Surov's Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security, is expected to be published in three months (July 2010)—so the technical details will have to wait. But Surov sketched out the basic set up for me in an email.

He used Campbell hamsters, with a fast reproduction rate, divided into 4 groups. All were fed a normal diet, but one was without any soy, another had non-GM soy, a third used GM soy, and a fourth contained higher amounts of GM soy. They used 5 pairs of hamsters per group, each of which produced 7-8 litters, totally 140 animals."

There are pictures of the hair growing inside the mouths of the hamsters - creepy! I just don't want to take a chance. As soon as I heard about sugar possibly being made from GM sugarbeets, I strictly bought CANE sugar. And I still will, no matter how much more expensive it is.

[anvoj]

Wow! Sugar to Hitler in six posts! That's got to be some kind of record.

[ChristieAcres]

I don't use sugar, so no problem here.

[mickm]

Originally Posted by anvoj

Wow! Sugar to Hitler in six posts! That's got to be some kind of record.

[beaglebiz]

HFCS came to mind immediately

[Bearfootfarm]

"This study was just routine," said Russian biologist Alexey V. Surov

Wasn't it some RUSSIANS who said the oil well in the Gulf was going to collapse and destroy the world?

I don't put much faith in a "study" by an obviously biased group.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by Bearfootfarm

Wasn't it some RUSSIANS who said the oil well in the Gulf was going to collapse and destroy the world?

I don't put much faith in a "study" by an obviously biased group.

Soybeans mimic hormones, esp female ones, so when fed in excess to a group of hampsters, odd things will happen. Such as this - the one group that got excess soy a very small number got the hormone effect.

But, we won't let that stand in the way of straw-men.

--->Paul

[Bandit]

I cut back on sugar , drink my coffee without it
I only use it now on my Frosted Flakes

[fishhead]

I've used honey for years but it's difficult to buy food at the grocery store that doesn't contain sugar and corn syrup even though I do most of my own cooking.

[texican]

I could give a rat's rear about the health of the nation. I'm going to use sugar... if it's not beets, it'll be sugar cane sugar.... or that evil corn sugar.

Thank goodness we're going to get rid of RUR sugarbeets... we can triple or quadruple our use of poisonous pesticides that can wash into our waterways, and groundwater, wiping out quadrillions of innocent lifeforms, all for the noble purpose of.... excuse me, what was the purpose??? Oh, I remember... to safeguard the noble noble non genetically modified sugarbeet... even though no commercial grower is ever going back to them... because they're non competitive with other plants grown for sugar.

Haypoint... but, but, but....
Same folks complain about buying their stuff from 'furriners'... and bemoan the fact that good old 'Merican's don't 'make' stuff anymore.

Make it more expensive and uncompetitive to work or grow stuff in the US, and the 'work' will move overseas. It may not actually move, but if good ol boys here can't make money, through 'high minded ideals' in the form of regulations, some entrepreneur in countries less kind to their citizens and the environment will gladly fill in the gaps. And make money.

I too, have never grown a sugar beet. I do eat maybe one can and a real bowl of sugar beets every three years. Probably do get some of my sugar intake from sb's... but I can live without em... "Too Bad" for those noble farmers trying to make a living off of them. Maybe they can subdivide their land into mini ranches... or grow organic food, and have folks from the projects come out and pick the stuff. {facetious} Areas I've seen sugar beets grown in were way out past the boonies, on the other side of the 'sticks'.

Let's get rid of all agriculture in this country, as done in traditional manners.

Mandate farming can only be done with animal powered implements, or handtools... no chemical fertilizers, no pesticides, no herbicides... no irrigation, unless done by human or animal power. No diesel/gas/electric machinery allowed at any time in the entire process. Seed toted to the field on the back of free range llamas. Final produce carried to human population centers on the backs of hungry people, mules, horses, dog sleds. We must reduce our carbon emissions Now.

...........Okay, that felt good........ got the crazy out of my system... try it folks, you'll like it!!!

[haypoint]

Hey, no fair. You are looking past your personal ideals and peeking at the real world, Texican. That won't get you far on this thread.....

[tinknal]

Originally Posted by texican

Mandate farming can only be done with animal powered implements, or handtools... no chemical fertilizers, no pesticides, no herbicides... no irrigation, unless done by human or animal power. No diesel/gas/electric machinery allowed at any time in the entire process. Seed toted to the field on the back of free range llamas. Final produce carried to human population centers on the backs of hungry people, mules, horses, dog sleds. We must reduce our carbon emissions Now.

Well, it WOULD cut unemployment and put the American farmer back in his/her rightful place at the top of the food chain (pun intended)........

[Patt]

To actually address the OP and ignore the GMO bit of it I have a question: are sugar beets substantially different from regular beets? Because they are one of the hardiest things we grow, they thrive every year without an ounce of any sort of chemical fertiliser or herbicide or pesticides. So I don't see why the need for multiple chemicals in the first place?

[Patt]

Originally Posted by anvoj

Wow! Sugar to Hitler in six posts! That's got to be some kind of record.

Nobody mentioned Hitler except you.....