For too long the sugar lobby has protected sugar subsidies by running a campaign of distortion based on misleading claims. Contrary to the lobbyists’ propaganda, the wasteful U.S. sugar program costs American consumers and businesses $3.5 billion each year and puts in jeopardy about 600,000 jobs in sugar-using industries.
The sugar program may be a sweet deal for wealthy sugar companies, but not for American consumers and businesses.
The following are are the top five myths about the sugar program. Unwrap the facts for yourself below.
1. MYTH: The sugar program helps sustain 142,000 American jobs and reform efforts threaten those jobs.
FACT: The International Trade Commission stated in August 2011 that there are only 18,000 jobs in sugar crop farming and processing in the entire United States, a number that is grounded in U.S. Census data. That’s not very close to 142,000. By contrast, Census data show approximately 600,000 jobs in those segments of the food industry that purchase sugar. For an Agralytica white paper debunking the 142,000 jobs myth, please click here.2. MYTH: The European Union “reformed” its sugar policy and now faces a dire shortage of sugar and high prices, so we shouldn’t repeat their mistakes in reforming U.S. sugar policy.
FACT: The mistake of the European reform was leaving tariffs and quotas in place similar to current U.S. sugar policy. Tariffs and import and domestic production quotas can lead to record high prices and tight supplies.
The European Commission Deputy Director General for Agriculture and Rural Development agrees that quotas are bad too, saying: “For us it’s important that the quotas end because they are very rigid. We believe they are a thing of the past, and it doesn’t make sense that sugar will be the only market left with quotas in the EU.”
We agree with U.S. sugar producers’ assertions that U.S. policymakers shouldn’t repeat Europe’s mistakes.
Europe plans to move away from its mistaken sugar policy. We should too.
3. MYTH: The sugar program operates at “no cost” to consumers and taxpayers and has since 2002.
FACT: By starting with 2002, the sugar lobby conveniently fails to reveal that taxpayers spent $500 million on surplus sugar in 2000. What’s more, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts $193 million in future sugar subsidy costs, and a recent Iowa State University study estimates that consumers are spending an extra $3.5 billion at the grocery store every year because of sugar subsidies.4. MYTH: Sugar reform will only help big candy companies.
FACT: This is not just a candy issue. Sugar is used in a wide range of food products – breads, pasta sauce, peanut butter, frozen vegetables, canned fruit and many more. And this is not a big company issue. Smaller companies are hurt most by sugar policy. They normally pay higher prices than do high-volume buyers; they are last in line to be served when supplies are tight; and they frequently do not have the sophisticated hedging capabilities of large companies, and so are more vulnerable to government-induced price spikes. And this is not a just a company issue. The U.S. sugar program forces consumers to pay more. Reform will help all American consumers.5. MYTH: U.S. sugar prices are falling and surpluses are looming.
FACT: It’s true, prices have fallen, but from an all-time record high that produced incredible windfall profits for Big Sugar. In the past four calendar years, U.S. refined sugar prices have ranged from 64 to 92 percent higher than on the world market. The fall in U.S. sugar prices does not change the fact that the 2008 farm bill led to distorted markets, short supplies and incentives for businesses to locate food production offshore. It will happen again any year that crops are disappointing unless sugar reform is enacted.
To unwrap additional facts about the sugar program, click here.
FACT CHECK
Following are recent e-newsletters that will help you unwrap the facts about the U.S. sugar program and the need for reform. Click on the links to download and print a PDF version of each e-newsletter.
- Sugar Reform: A “Big Candy” Issue? Check Your Grocery List.
- Don’t Be Fooled by the Sugar Lobby’s Absurd Claims
- Sugar Lobby: So Many Ads, So Few Facts
- Sugar Lobby and Its Allies Continue to Distort the Facts
- Current Sugar Program Helps Our Global Competitors, While American Consumers and Businesses Pay the Price
- Sugar Lobby Continues to Mislead with EU Comparisons
- U.S. Sugar Program Creates Instability, Could Leave Consumers Paying Millions More if Reforms Are Not Enacted
- The Sugar Program Is Working? Working for Whom?
- Sugar Reform Will Benefit All American Consumers and Businesses That Use Sugar
- Sugar Subsidies Artificially Inflate U.S. Sugar Prices, Impose Costly Hidden Tax on Consumers and Businesses
- Before Pointing the Finger at Other Sugar-Producing Countries, Let’s Reform Our Own Market-Distorting Policies
- Sugar Reform Means Independence from Costly Restrictions, Not Dependence on Sugar Imports
- Sugar Lobby’s Fuzzy Math on Jobs Numbers
- With Misleading ‘Surplus’ and Price Claims, Sugar Lobby Stays True to Its Campaign of Distortion
- The Farm Bill, as Drafted, Does Not Help Small Businesses That Use Sugar
- A ‘No Cost’ Program?: Not So Fast, Sugar Lobby
- ‘Unwrap the Facts’ Takes On Sugar Lobby’s Campaign of Distortion
- Big Sugar Is at It Again – Distorting the Facts to Protect Subsidies
- EU and U.S. Sugar Reform Efforts Do Not Compare
- Sugar Lobby Continues Campaign of Distortion, Misrepresenting the Facts
- Sugar Reform Will NOT Make America Reliant on Foreign Imports or Jeopardize the Domestic Sugar Industry
- U.S. Sugar Lobby Continues to Distort the Findings of a Department of Commerce Study
- The U.S. Sugar Program Needs Reform Now
- U.S. Sugar Prices Have Increased Significantly Since 2008, Despite Sugar Lobby’s False Claims
- U.S. Sugar is NOT ‘More Affordable than World Average’