Trump's Cane Sugar Push Sparks Corn Industry Backlash

President Donald Trump's recent proposal to replace corn syrup with cane sugar in U.S. Coca-Cola products has sparked a significant backlash from agricultural economists and industry leaders. The primary concern is that such a shift would lead to a substantial loss of jobs in the agricultural sector, particularly among corn farmers. The Corn Refiners Association, a trade group, has warned that replacing high-fructose corn syrup with cane sugar could result in thousands of American food manufacturing jobs being lost, a decrease in farm income, and an increase in imports of foreign sugar, all without any nutritional benefit.

Trump announced his efforts to push Coca-Cola to switch to cane sugar for its U.S.-made products, stating that the company had agreed to do so. However, Coca-Cola has not confirmed this switch and has defended its use of high-fructose corn syrup, asserting that it has a similar caloric content and metabolic effect as table sugar. The company also stated that it would soon have more details on new innovative offerings.

The potential shift in sweeteners has raised concerns among corn industry leaders. The Corn Refiners Association CEO, John Bode, emphasized that replacing high-fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would not only cost jobs but also depress farm income and boost imports of foreign sugar. This change could force corn farmers, primarily in Iowa and Illinois, to seek alternative business opportunities. However, Trump's tariffs and trade policies, particularly with China, have already inhibited the export of corn, making it difficult for farmers to find new markets.

Some industry experts argue that the short-term effects of this change are being overstated. Corn syrup production in the U.S. accounts for less than 3% of the total corn industry, and Coca-Cola's use of high-fructose corn syrup represents a fraction of that. Therefore, the impact of Coca-Cola switching to cane sugar would be minimal on the overall corn market. However, the symbolic impact of the growing influence of the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) campaign, led by Department of Human Health and Safety Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could have significant consequences for the corn industry. The MAHA campaign has targeted ultraprocessed foods, including corn syrup, favoring alternatives like cane sugar, despite some nutrition experts asserting the two sugars are essentially chemically identical.

As major U.S. food makers acquiesce to pressure from the Trump administration by adding more explicit packaging labels and vowing to remove dyes and seed oils from their products, there is real concern from the corn industry that the administration could outright ban corn syrup. This would have a significant price impact on the market. The Trump administration's MAHA push may face opposition from powerful lobbying barriers from U.S. agriculture, which has historically protected sugar producers and kept corn syrup as a cheap alternative. The sugar lobby's influence and the Trump administration's reliance on its large support base of American farmers create a Catch-22 situation, making it difficult for the administration to implement such changes without facing significant backlash from the agricultural sector.