Sugar Beet - Genetic Modification

Genetic Modification

History

In the United States, genetically modified sugar beet, engineered for resistance to glyphosate, a herbicide marketed as Roundup, was developed by Monsanto as a genetically modified crop. Glyphosate-resistant sugar beet contains a biosynthetic gene that protects it from the effects of glyphosate when it is applied to the crop as a means to control weeds. In 2005, the United States Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) deregulated glyphosate-resistant sugar beet after it conducted an Environmental Assessment and determined glyphosate-resistant sugar beet were highly unlikely to become a plant pest. Sugar from glyphosate-resistant sugar beet has been approved for human and animal consumption in the European Union and the United States. Studies have concluded that sugar from glyphosate-resistant sugar beet has the same nutritional value as sugar from conventional sugar beet (not genetically modified or non-GMO).

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