The illustrated history of how sugar conquered the world (2017) | Hacker News Reader

The illustrated history of how sugar conquered the world (2017)

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32 pointsjelliclesfarm10 comments

Sugar was still a major colonial force up until at least 1916, at least in Fiji; the British imported over 60,000 Indian indentured laborers and continued to dabble in the local slave trade to work on the sugar plantations in Fiji. Among a long string of global trade developments to majorly impact those islands, sugar was still a massive disruption not that long ago--with many people alive there yet whose parents and grandparents were involved.

I love articles like this - they're super interesting and I always learn something new.

Like, I didn't realize that there weren't honey bees in North America before they were introduced by Europeans (Note the article is a little off, it says about 10,000 BC: "There are no bees in the Americas, though, so their sweeteners are syrups from trees, agave nectar from cactus, or mashed fruits." There were plenty of bees in the Americas, just no honey bees. Other bee species produce honey, but just not in the excess amounts that allow domestication like honey bees do.)

The sugar industry has not been honest about the product they produce:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/13/493739074...

Blaming obesity on fat (especially unsaturated fat) appears to be one of the significant health travesties of the last century. It's surprising how long it took for health professionals to come to their senses, especially with the amount of obesity that continued to rise despite the proliferation of non-fat and low-fat products in grocery stores

I'm glad to see a trend back to old fashioned sweeteners such as honey, agave, and maple syrup. The less sugar and high fructose corn syrup consumed, the better.

Surprisingly no notes on the recent rise of plant based sugar substitutes like Monk Fruit / Erythritol, or allulose

Wish the article included details on how the US is leveraging sugar to destroy the Cuban economy. Subsidies to US agriculture makes it so Mexican farmers can’t make a living on corn farming, leading to the modern migration to the US. But, Iowa votes first, so it will never change.

It is not the US but the Fanjul Brothers from Cuba who run the sugar cartel. And are major donors.

[..]The Fanjuls are most well-known for being sugar barons. Prior to fleeing Cuba and settling in Florida following Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution, the family had, over generations, amassed a fortune through growing and marketing sugar. When they moved to the U.S. they kept this business tradition alive, and with great success: the family bought lands, planted sugar canes, built factories, created partnerships, and expanded to other countries. The Fanjuls own about 400,000 acres of sugar cane plantations, half of which are in Florida and the other half in the Dominican Republic. Their main sugar holding company is American Sugar Refining, Inc. (ASR), which is a partnership between the Fanjul family’s Florida Crystals and the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida. American Sugar Refining controls refineries by ownership or shareholder status in four states and six countries. The company’s American brands include Domino, Florida Crystals, Redpath, Tate & Lyle, and C&H. [..]

https://www.promarket.org/2016/09/19/sugar-industry-buys-aca...

There is actually more to this. It’s worth rabbitholing for Fanjul Brothers and the Cuban Sugar Cartel.

There is enough material here for an opulent political thriller K-drama stylesque series here.

I'll change the title.

"The Illustrated History of How Sugar Destroyed the World"

Before Sugarcane was adopted in India, Palm sugar was already widely used as a sweetener and the process was Palm alcohol(Kallu), Palm juice (Pathani) and Palm sugar(Karuppatti)

great article.

i recommend this book by husband&wife team, illustrated by a french lithographer who visited sugar plantations in 1700s.

https://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Changed-World-Slavery-Freedom/d...

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