Looking for another reason to lower the amount of sugar in your diet? I can give you two more. Consider this: according to the World Wildlife Fund, sugar does more damage to biodiversity and the environment than any other crop. In a report titled “Sugar and the Environment,” the WWF estimates that over 150 million tons of sugar are produced each year by 121 countries all over the world. Sugar production and harvesting impact ecosystems in many different ways.
Biodiversity
Consumer demand for sugar grows each year, and the amount of land dedicated to sugar production increases with it. Unfortunately, this land doesn’t come ready-made to support sugar cane production –substantial clearing is required to make land available for sugar growth. Sugar production destroys a variety of different habitats, and this loss of habitat leads to a loss of species.
Water pollution and consumption
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that sugar requires water to grow. But the numbers are truly staggering –it takes 88 gallons of water to produce a five-pound bag of sugar. That’s twice as much water per pound, as fruit production, and four times as much as it takes to produce vegetables. Besides requiring massive amounts of water to grow the sugar, it also takes a lot to process it. Factories use large amounts of water to clean the soil off of roots during harvest.
Some of the water that is used in sugar cultivation turns into runoff, spilling out of the farm’s boundaries to flow into natural waterways and aquatic habitats, polluting existing sources of water with toxic chemicals and pesticides.
Though these effects listed above are the most damaging results of sugar production, they are far from the only ones. Sugar production also leads to lesser soil quality in many areas from repeated use, and air pollution from crop burning and factory emissions.
As a consumer, you can’t necessarily control the actions of politicians and big industry when it comes to reducing the impact of sugar production on the environment. You can still do your part by reducing your consumption of sugar cane. There are many natural sweeteners that you can use as substitutes that won’t harm you or the environment. Though you may not enjoy your coffee as much without sugar, a cleaner planet for everyone is a pretty sweet treat.
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