By Kevin M. Folta
Several times a year I find myself exiting the Florida’s Turnpike at Yeehaw Junction and heading south. When I get to the small town of Okeechobee I take a left and head down Route 98 through Florida’s extensive agricultural backyard. Flanked by Lake Okeechobee on the west and the affluent cities of the Atlantic coast off to the east, the small towns nestled in this sliver of land support vibrant production of sweet corn, cattle, lettuce, and sugarcane. Cane-derived sugar ends up in many cupboards as table sugar, and also is found in many consumer products.
As reported on NPR, candy companies are caving in to consumer demands that the sugar they consume does not come from a GMO plant. To the scientist this is curious, because table sugar coming from sugarcane (which never was a GMO) is chemically identical to table sugar from GMO sources like sugarbeets—it is sucrose. Sugarcane and sugar beets are partners in pleasure, together satisfying America’s sweet tooth. However, the demand for non-GMO sugar is exciting news only to the sugarcane industries, as their product has become increasingly more valuable with the no-GMO demand.
For more: www.science20.com