Sugar Facts and History

 Sugar is a natural substance that is produced in plants and fruits. Plants with largest concentration of sugars are sugarcane and sugar beet.

 Sugarcane is the world’s largest crop, and is responsible for creating 75-80% of world’s sugar.

 Sugarcane started in Asia but that was not the end of sugar’s story. As Europe entered into Napoleonic wars in early 19th century, France was in desperate need for a source of sugar that was not reliant on the ships fighting trough naval blockades. For that purpose they started a new European sugar industry that was based on the sugar beet, a plant that was used very rarely before that time. Their gamble paid off, and after the wars Europe itself could produce over 30% of the total sugar they needed.  

 With an annual production of 27,900 TMT, the United States of America remains a major producer of sugarcane, all the while also being the fifth largest consumer of sugar. The majority of the country's production comes from Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Texas.

 Sue and I grew in a small town in Minnesota where Sugar Beets were raised. I can still see the railroad cars full of beets. The tracks ran right through downtown. We always had a group of people who picked the crops and the churches in town would have things for the kids of the pickers family to do. Both of us as teenagers spent time helping with this. I still use Beet Sugar as often as I use cane sugar.