GE Free BC reports that our biggest sugar processing company, Rogers/Lantic, the last GM-Free sugar beet processing company in North America, is about to decide if they will accept GM sugar beet this growing season. This sugar beet has been genetically modified to resist Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. Because sugar beets are wind-pollinated, there is a huge risk of cross-pollination between GM and conventional varieties, as well as related crops such as organic chard and table beets.
And as always, of course, there’s the overriding safety concern about genetically-modified plants intended for human consumption, which is that we simply don’t know enough about the long-term health risks of eating such foods. To paraphrase what I heard one seed grower say about it, do we really have the right to perform this kind of science experiment on our grandchildren?
It is suggested, therefore, that you send a special valentine to Rogers/Lantic’s CEO, Edward Makin, asking that he keep our sugar GE free.
Another sweet thought this week might include sending a submission to a new publication, Food & Sex (a new independent quarterly that explores the history, nature and culture of food and sex) from The Bouwerie, “a collective of visual linguists, wayfaring wordsmiths, agricultural artists, and culinary arbiters” who also bring you the very useful Eat Well Guide, a fun search tool to keep you sustainably nourished in Canada and the U.S.
