😋 Here's How India Got Addicted to Sugar!

Sugar is probably one of the most dangerous things we consume. But it is also a Rs. 80,000 crore industry. So, how did this dangerous compound become such a huge part of our lives?

What if we told you that most of us are addicted to a dangerous drug? In fact, you're probably consuming it right now, while reading the article? 

No, we're not talking about the internet or social media. 

We're talking about sugar. 

And India is the world's largest producer, consumer and exporter of sugar. So, we're taking a detailed look into India's sugar industry, the economic impact of sugar, and the growing business of sugar alternatives. 

So, fasten your seatbelts and ReadOn! 

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🔍 India's Sugar History

Our sugar addiction starts right from our wandering ancestors: they ate sugar rich fruits,  which gave them energy and helped them store fat. 

This was something they needed because they were wanderers and didn't know where their next meal was coming from or if it was coming at all! 

This is why our brain now releases a feel-good chemical, dopamine, every time we consume sugar. This dopamine kick makes sugar addictive. In fact, it is as addictive as the drugs we have banned. 

So, excess sugar is harmful for our brain. And also for our body. You see, most of us now have food security, we don't need to store extra fat in our bodies. But do we consume excess sugar? 

On an average, India consumes 18 kgs of sugar per capita per annum, when we should be having 9.

But how did we get so hooked on sugar? 

Technically, it's India's fault. If you look at the history of sugar (here's a super interesting article we found about sugar's history), India was the first country to refine sugar in the world. 

But even though we may have invented sugar, we aren't fully to blame for it taking over the world. 

The blame for that kinda lies with the Europeans. Especially the British. 

Once sugar was introduced in Europe, people quickly got addicted to it, and soon began colonising countries to grow sugarcane. 

India was one such country. We not only provided sugar for Europeans (read British) but also cheap labour in sugarcane plantations. 

Looking at the high demand for sugar, Indian businessmen also started laying down sugar mills. But while India had a huge demand for sugar, we were still a country that depended on honey and jaggery (healthier sugar alternatives). 

Some of these businessmen wanted only sugar to rule in India, so they conspired with the colonist rulers to 

• Ban many jaggery making processes reducing supply

• Create thicker sugarcane that was difficult to crush in traditional ways

So, now sugarcane farmers only had one customer: sugar mills. 

Most Indians also had one sweetener: sugar. 

And so started a problematic sugar saga in India which has left us with a bitter aftertaste in our mouth. 

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⚠️ The Problems of the Sugar Industry

We've already talked about the health problems related to sugar but that isn't the only problem with this industry. 

The sugar industry as a whole in India seems highly unsustainable. Why? Let's get back to our story. 

Thanks to the scheming of some businessmen sugar became the go-to sweetener. So, sugar prices started rising. 

Because of this more farmers started planting sugarcane, causing an excess of sugar, reducing prices. So, farmers stopped producing sugarcane, prices rose again. And this cycle continued. 

Now, the government obviously wanted to break this cycle. But, how?

Sugarcanes account for 3/4th of the cost of sugar. And so to be fair, and to encourage consistent production, it was decided that the price to be given to the sugarcane farmers should depend on the final sales price of sugar. This amount was called the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP). And this amount was to be paid up-front to the farmers, within 14 days of receipt of sugarcane.

But this meant sugar mills would be making huge losses anytime sugar prices dropped or supplies increased. For this minimum support price for sugar was introduced. 

Because of these regulations two things happened: our sugar production increased more and our sugar became more expensive. 

So, we planned on exporting it so that sugar mills could make money. But our sugar was more expensive than other countries. 

To make exports competitive, the government started giving export subsidies to sugar mills, so that they could sell sugar at lower prices and still make profits. 

Despite this, sugar mills currently owe huge debts to farmers. In UP alone mills have yet to pay Rs. 4,832 crores to farmers. 

Meanwhile, the government spent Rs. 1,800 crores on sugar subsidies in 2021.

Understood why we said the industry was unsustainable? 

But it doesn't need to be. Cutting our sugar intake down could maybe solve this whole problem. 

In fact, instead of worrying about sugar prices going up because India has curbed exports to only 6 million tonnes (down from 11 million tonnes), the world should be celebrating. 

It gives them the perfect opportunity to quit sugar! 

But what will happen to farmers and sugar mills if we quit sugar? And how did the rest of the world get so addicted to sugar? 

Stay tuned because all of these questions will be answered in our next blog. 

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⚡In a line: Sugar is bad for us and so is the sugar industry for the world, but quitting sugar could change things for the better.

💡Quick question: Did this blog make you want to quit sugar?

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