Sugar is a carbohydrate that occurs naturally in fruits and vegetables. Of all known plants, sugar is most highly concentrated in sugar beets and sugar cane. The sucrose (sugar) from sugar beets and sugar cane is identical, and the same as the sucrose found in fruits and vegetables.

Whether from sugar beets or sugar cane, or from biotechnology-enhanced or conventionally improved sugar crops, sugar is pure and natural and has the same nutritional value, composition and wholesomeness. The sugar is the same.

Both sugar beets and sugar cane are grown in North America, and growers of these crops face significant challenges protecting their crops from weeds, insects, diseases and the environment. Biotechnology provides a platform for new technologies to manage these challenges and develop traits, such as new options for weed control, insect protection and disease resistance.

Today, biotechnology-enhanced sugar beets are helping growers manage weeds, improve productivity and lessen impacts on the environment, while preserving a sustainable and geographically diverse supply of sugar. Additionally, experimental sugar cane varieties containing various biotech traits are being thoroughly evaluated around the world.

In North America, hurricanes, droughts, floods, frosts and more can cause sugar supply challenges. Because sugar is an important ingredient in the North American food supply, it is vital to have a sustainable and geographically diverse supply of sugar and sugar by-products to support the North American food industry for consumers.

Roundup Ready® sugar beets, which are enhanced through biotechnology, are an important tool that can be used by growers to maintain the availability of the domestic sugar supply for North American consumers. Roundup Ready sugar beets will be the first biotech product commercialized for sugar beets.

Learn more about science-based information regarding the benefits of the advances in sugar beet and sugar cane crops.

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Information for the Sugar Industry