[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by Aloha1

Ummm, because that's how you harvest sugar cane.

Ummm...totally incorrect.

It's done because...it's cheaper and easier.

Alternatives to burning (strike match here)

Are there any alternatives?

The alternative to sugarcane burning is the more sustainable, burn free, practice of “green harvesting.”

Green harvesting is practiced by some of the world’s top sugarcane growing nations like Brazil and Australia where trash is effectively utilized to produce profits instead of being burned.

In Florida though, the sugar lobby is very powerful and donates a lot of money to politicians, so that's the real reason it's allowed...and probably won't change.