A group of food industry officials have convened to try and find ways to keep that from happening. Among them are Kraft, General Mills, and Hershey.
It seems that there is a tariff on how much sugar can be imported to the United States each year. While all of us could do without a little less sweets – this will affect more than the sugar in your coffee and tea; or your “occasional splurge” to fill up that sweet tooth.
However those teeth could do with a lost less sugar as well. Could this be a blessing in disguise? It has been told that in days of old, you had to have a prescription to get sugar and the average person used about one pound per year a far cry from the individual consumption here in America.
Sugar stacks: Who of us common folk would even have given a second thought to our “sugar fixes” but it seems the tariff is not only a protection from too many sugar imports; but perhaps a little smack of politics.
This site below is amazing how someone put sugar cubes beside common foods in order to show the sugar content of the food – each cube represents one teaspoon of sugar and you can click on the tabs above for various categories. The Web site is called Sugar Stacks http://www.sugarstacks.com/snacks.htm
Diabetes is a rampant disease in this country and not solely caused by sugar/carbohydrate consumption – they are great contributors. Many believe that sugar is quite like a drug of sorts in that people crave it not just for the taste and that satisfied feeling;
but some seem to think they will come unraveled without it. History of sugar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar
Many people look to sugar to “hold them over” to the next meal and sugar mixed with chocolate can give you a sort of “boost.” During World War II, chocolate bars were a staple in many a soldier’s bag – quick to eat and quick energy because of the quick rise in blood sugar. But quick with a sugar filled gooey roll for breakfast will usually cause a quick drop by mid-morning causing the jitters and “feel bads.”
Having said that, this could be additionally serious in that it could affect many industries that employ a lot of people if they could not get this commodity. Sugar is used in some medications and other products besides candy. Some companies are promising that items contaiining sugar will increase in cost; and they will have to lay off some of their workers.
“An article published on August 13, 2009 by the Wall Street Market explains a letter written by some of the large corporations to Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, the big brands -- including Kraft Foods Inc., General Mills Inc., Hershey Co. and Mars Inc. -- bluntly raised the prospect of a severe shortage of sugar used in chocolate bars, breakfast cereal, cookies, chewing gum and thousands of other products. The companies threatened to jack up consumer prices and lay off workers if the Agriculture Department doesn't allow them to import ...”
Some doubt the intentions of the companies and others are not so sure.
Currently, the U.S. only allows unlimited imports from Mexico without tariffs in an effort to boost prices for U.S. sugar farmers. Tariff-free supplies from other sugar-exporting countries are limited by a quota.
“If those restrictions aren't eased, the food companies said they'd be forced to hike prices and slash jobs. Analysts have been forecasting a global supply shortfall because of too little rain in India and too much in Brazil Prices of sugar futures contracts have risen 95% so far this year because of supply worries. These are but a few of the web sites where you can find probably more questions than answers right now. As we greedy American do, there will probably be a run on sugar and perhaps rationing and this will increase the price even more. Sugar had to be rationed during World II and you had only so many “sugar” stamps in your book; so women began to rely on other forms of sugar – honey and maple syrup for example. While we do not need all the sugar - especially in soft drinks – we certainly don’t want to face even more economic downfalls because of shortages or lack of sugar”
Appropriately enough, the Bible talks about eating too much sweetening – been there done that. Proverbs 25:16 “If you find honey, eat just enough – too much of it, and you will vomit.
Photo credit: Stock.Xchng sugar bowl/lusi
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