Hi Matty!

According to my opinion the answer is: NO and YES :--))

Let me give some short explanation. The GM sugarbeet you mentioned (the one with glyphosate tolerance) will not be allowed to grow in the EU because of the growing concernes about the chemical residues of the active compound of this herbicide in the soil, fresh water, but in the human urine as well. Just now this topic is getting more and more in the focus of the environment protection movements. So, as I see it will not get the green light in Europe. On the other hand GM sugar beet with altered sugar content, diseas resistance (virus, fungus), nematode resistance, etc. may get to the point in the EU when the farmers REALLY want and need them and the authorities finally will agree and stop the ban. But there are many factors - mostly economic circumstances - which have pro and contra effects on the outcome.

I am pessimistic about GM glyphosate tolerant sugarbeet.

Despite the good safety credentials about glyphosate we are still getting these scare stories like the one Barnabas mentions about traces in human urine.

This is a link to some expert reaction to the story in the UK http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-press-release-from-fote-and-gm-freeze-about-glyphosate-in-urine

Also the whole trend in Europe is now against sugarbeet in general due to its inefficiency compared to cane sugar and the issue of discriminating against poorer cane producing countries by growing subsidised beet in Europe.

Finally you may be aware that Monsanto have just abandoned all attempts to licence GM crops in the EU.http://www.nature.com/news/monsanto-drops-gm-in-europe-1.13432

So all in all things ain't too rosy here

@Barnabas Jenes: You mean the fearmongering by green NGOs because of trace amounts of chemicals in freshwater and human urine. Here in Germany the consumer is bombarded with all kinds of horror scenarios and producers increasingly adopt "GMO-free" labeling (even regarding animal feed for dairy etc). This is why I don't see any chance for a broad acceptance of GM crops in the near future. As Greenpeace puts it "the consumer doesn't want it" – and then noone will grow it. At least that's what it looks like in Germany. Here the Green Party and Green NGOs found GMOs a perfect new topic to rave against after nuclear elecricity generation is something that definitely is being phased out.

I suspect it will be adopted with or without European knowledge and then farmers will be forced to pay the royalties to the patent holders. As long as it tastes nice, people will eat it. I certainly would put experimental DNA products in my meals.

Nevertheless, the EU is foregoing the benefits of GM sugar beet, the global value of which is estimated at 15 billion euros if the technology had been adopted in the period 1996-2014. Of this value, 29% would be captured by EU-27 farmers, 31% by farmers and consumers in the rest of the world and 39% by the seed sector. However, the global sugar sector is foregoing most of this value as the technology is currently only accepted by the US sugar industry.

Article Potential economic impact of GM sugar beet in the global sugar sector

Dear John! You've been willingly eating experimental DNA products for decades. Think about "mutation breeding" methods (e.g. irradiation or chemical mutagens). But no one ever raised an eyebrow because of the uncertain composition of genetic background of those crops.... (I assume you eat food made of wheat, rice, corn, etc.)

But there are many other examples in the food industry.

Hi Matty

what you say is true as far as it goes but there is a much wider economic and geopolitical context within which sugar beet and cane crops have to function.

A wide spectrum of opinion from NGOs to right-wing libertarians are concerned about topics such as the massive beet subsidies in US and EU, the dumping of beet sugar onto maekets, and restriction of free trade by tariffs etc. Here are a few examples

Dumping on the world How EU sugar policies hurt poor countries

http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp61_sugar_dumping_0.pdf

That Sickening Sugar Subsidy

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-13/that-sickening-sugar-subsidy.html

Why Congress Should Repeal Sugar Subsidy

http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/why-congress-should-repeal-sugar-subsidy

In the UK beet production is virtually a monopoly of one company, British Sugar, which is hardly the best way to run an efficient cropping system.

I think the very real gains shown with HT beet in US are quite minor issues when compared with these factors - not to mention the massively better sugar yield from cane versus beet.

Denis, I agree but GM sugar beet could exactly help reducing those subsidies. The question is why Europe is denying any gains from competitiveness despite the fact that attitudes surrounding biotechnology have improved.