The Food Industry’s New Plot to Cut the Cost of Sugar

A war is on between sugar farmers and their corporate buyers in the food and beverage industries. The U.S. food industry is turning against its sugar suppliers and attempting to abolish the Depression-era subsidies, price supports, and import tariffs meant to encourage domestic production. Proponents of the new push towards deregulation argue that these policies are outdated and unnecessarily prop up the price of American sugar.

The Sugar Policy Modernization Act

In an unlikely alliance, environmentalists, who see sugar cane farmers as a threat to air pollution levels and water resources, have teamed up with characters like the American Beverage Association and Hershey to push through the Sugar Policy Modernization Act. Kimberly Mitchell, of the Everglades Trust environmental group, told Bloomberg that the sugar lobby was responsible for repeatedly blocking conservation efforts and diverting water away from places that need it most.¹ Cris Costello, organizing manager for the Sierra Club, called the sugar lobby “the most powerful political influence in the state of Florida.”²

The food industry reps, when they’re not piggybacking on the environmentalists’ claims to gain public support, argue that they are forced to charge more to customers because of the high prices they pay for sugar for their products. Indeed, U.S. sugar costs far more than the global price of sugar, and some estimates that the difference costs businesses and consumers between 2.4 and 4 billion dollars a year. In such a case, however, one is faced with the uncomfortable dilemma of having to take sides between two enormously powerful political blocs: the sugar lobby and the food and drink lobby.

The Perilous Prospect of Cheap Sugar

Opponents of the new bill (that is to say, sugar farmers and agricultural bankers with a stake in the industry) claim that such measures would lead to a total collapse of domestic sugar production and completely disrupt the process of food production and consumption.³

One need not believe these frightening claims, however, to recognize the dangerous potential of a flood of cheap sugar. Local efforts to tax sugary drinks and force companies to make healthier products have already been stymied by the same food and beverage industry lobby now trying to bring down the cost of production. The E.U. abolished similar price regulations, subsidies, and tariffs at the end of last year, despite similar concerns: cheap sugar means higher rates of consumption and an intensified obesity crisis. For once, it seems, health experts and anti-obesity activists have cause to side with the sugar industry, in its efforts to keep the price of its product from bottoming out.

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD

This article has been medically reviewed by Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD.

Dr. Rosmy Barrios, MD is an aesthetic medicine specialist whose work focuses on patients who are treated for obesity, metabolic syndrome, and other weight-related issues through nutritional analysis, keto diet programs, and supporting medications.

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Ryan Mernin

Ryan is a freelance writer and editor based in Philadelphia. He has edited books of Chinese philosophy, interviewed bands as a music journalist, and labored over satirical treatises in the candlelit hours of the early morning. He has also tended bar.

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