Judgement Day for Beet Growers

It’s looking like ninety five percent of the sugar beet growers in the United States are soon to be pinned between a rock and a hard place. Due to a lawsuit filed by an Oregon organic beet farmer against the use of genetically engineered beets in his area. The genetically modified beet seeds were developed to tolerate Roundup herbicide helping growers kill weeds without killing their crop. Studies have shown that the sugar from the genetically modified sugar beets is identical to the sugar from other comparable sugar beets. Does the organic beet farmer have the right to grow and sell his organic beets? Of course. Does his right to grow organic beets outweigh the rights of the majority of growers who use genetically engineered beet seed? That’s a decision for the courts to decide. Depending on which way the judge’s decision swings could spell disaster for either side. One thing is certain; I wouldn’t want to be the one wielding that gavel come judgment day for the sugar beet industry, and I wonder how one organic beet grower in Oregon will feel when the beets fall where they may?