Shugha

Most people know about the massive sugar intake in the United States. Despite the warnings of dental and healthcare professionals, the average American consumes 150 pounds of sugar per year. However, not everyone knows about the hand the sugar industry, or "Big Sugar," has in nutrition guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Fewer still know of sugar companies' stronghold on U.S. import taxes, which puts $1 billion in excess profits into the pockets of American sugar barons. While the white stuff doesn't seem as dangerous as tobacco, the two industries employ similar political and research tactics to keep the dangers of their products out of the minds of the public.

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It seems the sugar lobby has much more political clout than most are willing to admit. But how exactly did they become so powerful? Their pervasive influence could be explained by the inflated prices Americans pay for sugar. The government restricts cheap sugar imports into the United States, thereby tripling the price of sugar to US consumers. As a result, Big Sugar earns $1 billion a year in excess profits they otherwise would not have. Where does that money go? I can assure you that it's not paying for America's growing healthcare burden.

The politics of sugar: why your government lies to you about this disease promoting ingredient.

It shouldn't be hard to figure out that a single can of Mountain Dew contains over an ounce of pure sugar. It gives me an ulcer just thinking about it. I don't claim to eat healthy -- in fact, it dawns on me that virtually everything I eat has some kind of sugar in it (nevermind my newfound obsession with hummus and multigrain bread). There is a feeling that I can't even breath the freaking air without ingesting some kind of harmful agent. Okay, it's not that bad, though I do find it ironic that the things which are good for our bodies are somewhere in the background in terms of the usual in-your-face style of advertising. One has to make a conscious decision to look for and research healthy foods. With the exception of a typical three-aisle organic mini-section, most grocery stores are filled largely with toxic snacks and microwave-ready "dinners". If only I could turn on the TV and see a commercial for the local organic food store. But I won't. Why? Because they don't have the money for advertising. Why? Because their store is located in some odd corner of the city where nobody will see it. Why? Probably because it was the best location they could find with the money they had. This result seems to be an inherent aspect of a capitalist free-market economy, but so many people are busy "lovin' it" that alternative food choices seem virtually nill -- or rather, just not part of the mainstream consciousness. Then again, maybe it's just me.