Monsanto Company, which dominates the sugar beet industry, begins using genetically modified seeds to strengthen the sugar beet to be able to resist pesticides, saying that stronger pesticides are needed for "insect management."

Sugar beets have become the primary means of producing sugar because of the environmental impact of sugarcane production.

Sugarcane production uses a high amount of water, which is one of the reasons it grows best in humid tropical and semi-tropical environments. Modern agricultural methods that use high levels of fertilizers and pesticides lead to high levels of water pollution. As such, the production of sugarcane is contributing to the death of the Great Barrier Reef and the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.

However, the alternative of sugar beets also pose environmental risks with the adoption of genetically modified seeds.