甘蔗,糖和环境 CANE, SUGAR AND THE ENVIRONMENT.docVIP

CANE, SUGAR AND THE ENVIRONMENT Ms Marianela Cordovés Herrera , Director, Industrial Promotion, GEPLACEA. Introduction In our world today, and to an ever-increasing extent in the years to come, no product sold on the market can be developed without taking into considerations its impact on the environment. This statement is particularly valid for a food product such as sugar, given the rising interest and expansion of markets for natural and organic products obtained through procedures, both in the agricultural and industrial stages, in which the use of chemicals and damage to the local and global environment are avoided or reduced to a minimum. Amidst the tense, controversial discussions taking place at present within the so-called Millennium Round, its agricultural negotiations and the issue of whether to include environmental matters in these talks, cane sugar producers have many advantages to offer and arguments to show the superiority of cane as a raw material for food and energy production; as opposed to other raw materials for sugar or substitute sweetener production such as corn and sugar beets. The aim of this paper is to attempt to present a brief summary of the potential of sugar cane as regards the environment as well as to discuss the current status of environmental legislation in effect in countries in the Latin American and Caribbean Region.   Cane Agriculture The various cane varieties cultivated for commercial purposes world-wide are species or hybrids of the Saccharum genus, which in turn belongs to the grass family. Its geographical origin remains a controversial subject, but in general it is acknowledged that it originated in the South Pacific region, Java and New Guinea, and subsequently spread out from there. One of the outstanding features of sugar cane is, among others, its extraordinary capacity for growth. It is not unusual to find agricultural yields exceeding 100 tons per hectare annually on commercial acreages. Its genetic potential is m