if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803
High Fructose Corn Syrup and Spice
by Lee
There’s a great op-ed in today’s Opinion Journal about free trade amongst the Americas, and they use our heavily subsidized sugar industry as an example.
The American sugar industry is so strongly advantaged by quotas, tariffs and subsidies that total sugar imports have declined by about a third since the 1990s. Cafta would allow additional sugar imports from the Central American nations totaling 107,000 metric tons in the first year. Annual U.S. sugar production is about 7.8 million metric tons, so the effect of Cafta is to raise sugar imports into America by about one day’s sugar production, or as Mr. Portman puts it, “approximately one teaspoon of sugar per week per adult American.”
That threat--a teaspoon of sugar a week--has caused the U.S. sugar lobby to focus its efforts on killing Cafta. And it may succeed. The U.S. government agreed not to free up the sugar market in the 2004 trade pact with Australia.American sugar producers claim they are not against free trade. But only trade agreements approved by the World Trade Organization are acceptable to them; any trade agreements reached between America and other nations evidently are not.
American sugar imports would depress sugar prices, they say. Well, American sugar prices today are about three times the world market’s, so some price reduction would be good for Americans, just as lower gasoline prices would be.
U.S. Sugar Corp.’s Senior Vice President Robert Coker believes that “bilateral and regional trade agreements are death by a thousand cuts.” Such economic protectionism--no bilateral trade agreements allowed--is the good old-fashioned socialism that has failed millions of people for hundreds of years. Like Lenin, U.S. Sugar seems to think that Americans should suffer economically rather than have a free market in sugar.
So a spoonful of sugar may kill an opportunity for six Central American nations to strengthen their $33 billion annual bilateral trade with the United States, prevent an increase in America’s export trade of more than $2 billion a year, and mean thousands of American men and women won’t get jobs that otherwise would be available.
There’s one aspect to this that this article neglected to mention. The next time you buy a Coke look at the ingredients. You won’t see sugar, you’ll see “high fructose corn syrup.” This is sugar syrup made from corn, and it’s used in almost everything. Why? Because the high tariffs on imported sugar inflate the price to such a high level that using corn syrup is far less expensive. The main group lobbying for these high sugar tariffs is a corporation called Archer Daniels Midland. Why should ADM care about sugar tariffs? Because, you guessed it, ADM are the makers of, among other things, high fructose corn syrup. There’s absolutely no reason that Coca Cola couldn’t be made, as it used to be, with sugar, except for the artificially high price caused by government interference in free trade.
Comments
And sugar is a hell of a lot better for you than corn syrup
are you sure about this?
Lee, actually it’s Archer Daniels Midland.
(from an old farm guy)
Out here it’s sugar beets and antiquated sugar factories...and I tend to agree with you.
If we turned all that corn, sugar beet, grain yield into making alcohol based fuels, we could pretty much thumb our noses at the rag-heads.
And I could go buy that Hemi Durango this weekend without any pangs of guilt what-so-ever. I’d probably buy it anyway just to piss off the bunny huggers.
Holland, Michigan was the home of LifeSavers candy for 75 years. Two years ago they had to move to Mexico. Not because of high labor costs as LifeSavers candy manufacturing was highly mechanized. It was due to the high cost of sugar.
Hop across the border to MX and the Coca Cola there is old skool - made with sugar because, well, it’s Mexico and it’s way cheaper because they don’t have the tariffs (and they can use Mexican sugar instead of American corn syrup). It’s soooooooooo effin’ good. I don’t drink sugary soda at all, but when I go to Mexico I always have a few Cokes.
Lee, actually it’s Archer Daniels Midland.
Changed, thanks. :)
Wyznowski,
There are also tariffs on imported bio fuel:
The reason is simple. Forget greenery or energy security, the grounds on which governments justify subsidising biofuels. Just take the past year’s soaring price of mineral fuels, subtract the biofuel subsidy, and the answer is plain: for the user, biofuels are currently cheaper. Indeed, in America’s corn (maize) states, locally produced ethanol is close to being competitive even without subsidy; imported Brazilian ethanol could have been so long ago, had not a federal tax credit for ethanol, originally 54 cents per American gallon, been carefully balanced by a 54 cent tariff.
Wait a sec, are you telling me that capitalism will make my store-bought iced tea taste better?
Damn, what *isn’t* better in a free market?
Bill Maher has been harping about high fructose corn syrup for months. He’s right. It has a lot to do with kids getting fatter. That shit is in everything, even salty stuff. It’s like we have way too much and we’re trying to get rid of it. WTF?
Damn, what *isn’t* better in a free market?
The revolution???
Furthermore, nations on good trading terms tend to be on good terms all around. So, in the current state of the world, friendly trade should be a priority. One might argue it’s a matter of national security.
Posted by moxie on 05/25 at 02:00 PM
Damn, what *isn’t* better in a free market?
The revolution???
Does that mean if we ever have a SAFTA that Venezuela won’t join?
Bill Maher goes on and on about corn syrup - he says that since the Feds basically PAY farmers to grow corn, there’s a ton of surplus corn laying around and that’s part of what makes corn syrup so much less expensive than sugar.
I’ve heard that in some areas with high Jewish populations you can get real Coke (with sugar) in and around Passover (or other holy days) because it’s more kosher or something.
High fructose corn syrup metabolizes into body fat far more readily than sugar.
High fructose corn syrup metabolizes into body fat far more readily than sugar.
But, but surely the government will protect us from stuff that’s bad for us!
Actually, go to a normal (non-hippy) grocery store and see how many things (outside of the produce aisle) you can find that has neither corn syrup nor partially hydrogenated xxx oil (which is pure trans fat). There’s not much of anything with neither of those ingredients. Both of them are pretty bad for you. Look for bread that has neither of those. Or cookies, or any kind of microwave meal.
It’s quite a bit more expensive to shop at the hippy grocery stores (Whole Foods, etc), but at least (some of) the food there is a tiny bit healthier.
Put sugar back into Coke and watch the Health Police start wailing about kids and cavities.
Whenever I stop by in Canada (about once every six months or so), I always buy as many Coke cans as I can.
Canadian Coke also uses sugar, not corn syrup. It tastes better.
That, and their Shake ‘n Bake, is the only reason why I would be opposed to the USA invading Canada.
Posted by Fantt on 05/25 at 02:53 PM
I’ve heard that in some areas with high Jewish populations you can get real Coke (with sugar) in and around Passover (or other holy days) because it’s more kosher or something.
True. Ashkenazi Jews don’t eat corn products on Passover. Look for a yellow cap with the letters “KP” stamped on it. For years this has been an open secret to non-Jewish lovers of the original Coke.
BTW,Is all of this corn syrup made from corn grown specifically for the purpose, or is it made from waste products that are left over from other uses? There is a lot of sugar in the center of the cobs. Health issues aside, it seems to make environemental sense to “recycle” portions of the corn production not used for (direct) human or animal consumption.
Health issues aside, it seems to make environemental sense to “recycle” portions of the corn production not used for (direct) human or animal consumption.
Isn’t that what ethanol is for?
That, and their Shake ‘n Bake, is the only reason why I would be opposed to the USA invading Canada.
You’re opposed to us laying claim to our rightful 51st state???
Posted by Fantt on 05/25 at 03:22 PM
Health issues aside, it seems to make environemental sense to “recycle” portions of the corn production not used for (direct) human or animal consumption.
Isn’t that what ethanol is for?
Sure, but how many people drink it without a mixer to go along with it?
And I could go buy that Hemi Durango this weekend without any pangs of guilt what-so-ever. I’d probably buy it anyway just to piss off the bunny huggers.
I bought my 2500 Diesel just because of the bunny huggers. I even take it down on occaison to where they protest the war everyday from 5-6. I like it when I hit the red light, I means I can idle at higher speeds while the diesel fumes covers several square blocks.
We should definately get off the sugar subsidies. Can’t they refine cane sugar into fuel?
They can, but it isn’t as good as gasoline. Do you really wan’t the world converted to sugar cane plantations to produce ethanol to drive around on? It really isn’t a good alternative to petrochemicals and will only ever be a niche market thing.
The sugar protectionism lobby seems to be pretty powerful in the US - they managed to get sugar excluded from the recent Australia-US free trade agreement. This caused significant political pain to the government in Australia (all those sugar-cane growers in Queensland got a large cash payment suspiciously close to the signing date).
And sugar is a hell of a lot better for you than corn syrup
are you sure about this?
I go to a Mexican resteraunt around the corner from me. This place has terrific food but the atmosphere is very spartan. Most of the clientele consists of the Mexican laborers and most of the time the guy working the counter speaks only Spanish. They have a wide selection of Mexican sodas there as well as American sodas bottled in glass bottles from Mexico. At first I thought that was strange but then I tried a “coke” and it tasted different and better.
I got the skinny on this from my friend Tommy who worked for Coke for about 6 years. Coke bottled in glass can use real sugar. Once you put coke into a plastic bottle, something about the way light refracts through plastic causes that sugar to spoil. This is why that Mexican coke from the glass bottle tastes much, much better.
Put sugar back into Coke and watch the Health Police start wailing about kids and cavities.
Sad but true… sad but true…
I got the skinny on this from my friend Tommy who worked for Coke for about 6 years. Coke bottled in glass can use real sugar. Once you put coke into a plastic bottle, something about the way light refracts through plastic causes that sugar to spoil.
Is that true? As mentioned before, they do make sugared coke in plastic bottles for Passover. Of course, they only have to last a week, but I’m sure they’d like to be able to sell any overestimated production for a while after that.
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And sugar is a hell of a lot better for you than corn syrup. Tastes better as well.