How Sugar Beet Farming Impacts Women:

Did you know that 60% of the 8.8 million tons of sugar produced in the US originated in sugar beets? That fact alone shows that sugar beet farming and the product it provides impacts women everywhere. However, women are not just impacted nutritionally as sugar consumers; there is an economic, political, social, and environmental impact as well.

Farmers of sugar beets use seeds from Monsanto, a GMO company. Because more people are demanding non-GMO products, the sugar beet industry is losing market shares. Laura Rutherford, who farms beets in North Dakota said the anti-GMO crowd is "trying to drive a wedge between the farmers and the consumers." As a result, 18 women, who are sugar beet farmers or farmer's wives, were recruited by the American Sugar Beet Growers Association. They are engaging in a social media campaign and amplifying their lobbying efforts.

Their objective is to turn public opinion on GMO's and sugar beets.  

Sarah Rachor is a fourth-generation sugar beet farmer in Montana. 

This year over 1.200 acres of sugar beets went unharvested due to the poor weather conditions. Rachor and other sugar beet farmers had to leave beets in the ground this year, leaving their profit out in the field. 

Without a crop to process, farmers, their families, workers at processing plants, and the communities in which they live all suffer. 

There is an economic downside to sugar beet farming beyond uncertain weather conditions. The discrepancy between how much a product costs and what the farmer gets paid can be the most significant deterrent to farming sugar beets. Rachor receives the same pay her father did in 1979 for a sugar beet harvest, yet the cost to raise sugar beets has risen steadily.

What now? 

Sugar beet farmers can get involved in their local and national Farmers Union and follow the Farm Bill. The decisions made in DC have an impact on agriculture and farming in all states. The farmers can attend workshops and conferences like those held by the Sugar Beet Growers Association, to learn new or different practices in growing and harvesting the sugar beets.

Another approach is to find innovative ways to use sugar beets. Take Madison Kate Dyer, for example. Dyer began a start-up company called Street BEETs. Dyer has shown that sugar beet juice is more efficient at preventing ice build-up on cars and road surfaces than salt is. Salt lowers the freezing point to 25 degrees while sugar beet juice lowers it to 5 degrees. Dyer claims her sugar beet juice would be odorless, colorless, and environmentally friendly. 

The creation of Street BEETs' would include farming, juicing and distribution, creating jobs, or providing a new economic stream for current sugar beet farmers. There is an additional revenue stream from selling the leftover beet pulp to animal feed companies. 

Regardless of the use of the sugar beets, it all begins with farming and the product, or lack of product impacts women everywhere.

Blankenship, Hannah. "Beets, shoes and technology: students pitch startup ideas at first ECAB of the semester." Gale Academic Onefile (2019): 1.

Blum, Susan D. "Called by the Earth: Women in Sustainable Farming." J. Workplace Rights (2012): 3-4.

Bruno, Lyndsay. Member Profile: A Sugar Beet Farmer's Way of Lie. 14 June 2018. 3 December 2019.

Efta, Amy. Sugar Beet News. 22 November 2019. 3 December 2019.

Reuters. Monsanto backlash? Sugar beet farmers face tough competition from non-GMO products. 30 October 2015. 3 December 2019.

Sugar Beet Policy

Just over half of the U.S. sugar production comes from sugar beets.   are a $1.2 billion-dollar crop in the U.S. and are grown in 11 states.  

     In 1934 The U.S. Sugar Act was enacted to provide subsidies for sugar beet farmers with a tax on sugar refining. Farmers received a flat rate payment per ton of sugar contained in their beets. In response, farmers grew larger beets. The problem occurred because the larger the beet, the less sugar it contains. Because of no competition in the refined sugar market, the processors had no incentive to improve the sugar extraction method. Between 1934 and 1974 (when the Act was repealed), the production of refined sugar from sugar beets dropped from 310 pounds per ton of beets to 240 pounds per ton of sugar beets.

     The sugar beet industry still receives government subsidies to the tune of about 55 percent. Some are in favor of the current sugar program and others are in opposition.

     The American Sugar Beet Growers Association, in favor of keeping the current policy intact, states that the economy benefits from the current policy by adding $20 billion annually to the U.S. economy.  They claim that the policy benefits taxpayers because the net revenue of sugar beets raises each year.  They also claim consumers benefit because the current policy provides an essential high-quality food ingredient at low, stable and competitive prices.  Workers benefit from the current policies governing sugar beets because it created 372,000 direct and indirect jobs.

     The opponents state that the current sugar program causes consumers to pay over $3.5 billion more for sugar due to the high U.S. prices.  The high prices are especially detrimental to small businesses that end up paying more than double the rate for sugar than they would in other parts of the world. The opponents claim that by eliminating the subsidies to the sugar beet industry over 17,000 jobs would be added in one year. Opponents propose a change to the Farm Bill, where sugar is concerned. So far, all attempts to make these changes have been defeated in the House of Representatives.

American Sugar Beet Growers Association. Benefits of Current Policy. 2019. 6 November 2019.

Caplan, Bryan. Sweetness and Light: A Tale of Sugar Regulation. 1 August 2019. 6 November 2019.

change.org. Reform the current U.S. sugar program. 2011. 6 November 2019.

McConnell, Michael J. United States Department of Agriculture: Economic Research Service. 20 August 2019. 6 November 2019.

Nicolais, Susan. Reform the current U.S. sugar program. 17 July 2011. 6 November 2019.

Sugar Beet Folklore

I could not find folklore specific to the sugar beet.  However, there was folklore about the beet and folklore about sugar. 

Milk and Sugar: Parsi Folklore
There are many legends in India of how the Parsi's were allowed to settle there. The general story states that the priestly leaders were brought before the local ruler, Jadi, who presented them with a vessel filled to the brim with milk, to signify that the surrounding lands could not possibly accommodate any more people.  The Parsi head priest responded by sprinkling some sugar into the milk to signify how the strangers would enrich the local community without displacing them.  They would dissolve into life, like sugar dissolves into milk, sweetening the society but not unsettling it. (NPR)

Bhabha recounts Parsi New Year at his grandmother's house.
Homi Bhabha, professor of English and director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University, is also a Parsi from Bombay.

On Parsi New Year, Bhabha says, his mother always had new clothes made for the children and would bathe them in milk in which a sprinkle of sugar was added along with crushed rose petals.  The family would then go to his grandmother's house where a long table was laden with auspicious foods, like fish for fertility.

"We drank this absolutely delicious milkshake-like drink, falooda, made of pink rosewater, sugar and ice cream and little jelly-bean like seeds, basil seeds," he says. "As I sipped my drink, I often recalled the founding story of the Parsi's dissolving like sugar in the milk." (NPR)

Beet Folklore with a basis in reality.
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, ate beets to enhance her appeal.  Some still consider beetroots to enhance beauty and provide aphrodisiac properties.  
The fact is, beets are a natural source of tryptophan and betaine, both substances that promote a feeling of well-being.  They also contain high amounts of boron, a trace mineral that increases the level of sex hormones in the human body.
Ancient Romans believed that beets and their juice promoted amorous feelings.  Eating beets may help your heart "beet" for that special someone. (Avey)

Avey, Tori. PBS Food: Discover the History of Beets. 8 October 2014. 30 October 2019.

NPR. NPR: Hidden Kitchens: The Kitchen Sisters. 20 March 2008. 30 October 2019.