Green GMO's

At Sunnyside Farms in New Plymouth, Idaho, newly elected president of the American Sugar Beet Growers Association, Galen Lee is enjoying spring tractor work preparing 230 acres for sugarbeet planting. Along with his current national position Lee also serves as president of the Nampa Sugarbeet Growers Association and the Payette County Farm Bureau. He also sits on the board of the Idaho Mint Growers Association and the Payette Valley Dairy Herd Improvement Association.

You have to make your voice heard. If you want to make a difference in agriculture you can't just sit around and complain about it, you've got to actually get involved and make a difference and help steer things on the course that you want them to be steered in instead of just taking what's thrown at you." About 55% of domestic sugar is produced from sugar beets. Nearly 100% of the beet seeds are genetically modified. That puts the industry at the tip of the spear of the controversy over GMO foods. For farmer Lee, the technology is good for agriculture.Furthermore, for GMO doubters, Galen Lee has a very interesting perspective that is extremely green. "The nicest thing about GMO crops is that they are safer for the environment. We are using less pesticides and chemicals than we used to. We are making fewer trips across the field, we're saving fuel and so we are helping the environment out by using GMO crops and producing just as much as we had before." Lee will plant six different crops on his 1250 acre farm and along with his father Art, will continue to care for the 250 cows on the family dairy.