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Just like there’s no such thing as the boogeyman, there’s also no such thing as GMO sugar — but public misconception about genetically modified food could be cause for concern for sugar beet producers.
Hershey Co. recently stopped using sugar from sugar beets, not due to worries about GMOs, but because of consumer demand. . .
. . . [O]n a molecular level, there’s no such thing as GMO sugar — all of it is identical. . .
The modified part for sugar beet sugar is limited to the plant because sucrose (sugar) contains no DNA, regardless of if it comes from sugar cane or sugar beets . . .
. . . .
Now all sugar beet seeds are genetically modified, making it impossible for American sugar beet farmers to go back to non-GMO seeds, Stroh said.
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Rodriguez estimated about five or six different chemicals were sprayed on sugar beet fields prior to using GMO seeds.
“It is actually safer and we take less passes over it (the field),” Rodriguez said, noting that sugar cane fields also spray chemicals.
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Local sugar production isn’t seeing any impacts from Hershey’s decision yet, but there are requests specifically for sugar that comes from sugar cane, Rodriguez said. Sugar cane production is limited to parts of Florida and Louisiana and the rest is imported, he said.
“Bringing sugar in from other countries is not safe because we have no idea what they are spraying on it — we don’t know where it comes from or what is done to it,” Stroh said. . . .
Read full, original post: The GMO sugar myth
