this post was submitted on 08 Feb 2026
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Today I Learned

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In case you didn't know. Beet juice is one of the best natural de-icing options available. Also, and I cannot emphasize this enough, fuck ICE

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[–] Tim_Bisley@piefed.social 2 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

This all sounds fantastic, but over the past few years, there’s been some environmental concern about this sugar beet brine as well. Some research has indicated that beet juice deicer can be harmful to insects including the mayfly, which are important prey species in their aquatic larval stage. Beet deicer has also been linked to a high biochemical oxygen demand: When microorganisms break down the beet juice sugars, they dramatically reduce the amount of oxygen in a waterway, which can essentially suffocate aquatic animals like fish and amphibians. Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality notes that in topographically flatter places like Michigan, the slow movement of waterways makes them especially susceptible to this kind of event.

Then this was an interesting comment:

Most sugar beets grown in the US are GMO engineered to be Roundup Ready. So advocating for more sugar beets leads to more glyphosate use. As happened with corn and soybeans, Roundup use drives weed resistance. So resistance to older herbicides like Dicamba and 2,4-D are built into sugar beets seed, leading to more herbicide use. There is no free lunch.

[–] Waggles@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

Thanks for educating me in the ways of science! I had some idea that beet juice had pitfalls, but wasn't aware of the possible ecological impact it could have.

[–] Beetschnapps@lemmy.world 20 points 17 hours ago

Awesome! Another reason I love beets, they super food as well.