Trump Suger pushes the biggest winner from Coca-Cola

Jordan Hayes usually avoids politics. He did not vote in the 2024 election and had a different view on Donald Trump.

So, the 37-year-old from California learned last week that he stood with the president on at least one issue – Coke made with cane sugar is better.

“Another sweetness involved,” said Hayes, a longtime fan of Cane Sugar Cola, said it was sold in the United States because of Mexican Cola, which is usually sold with corn syrup versions.

Americans can offer it at a premium, but Hayes believes the higher price is worth it. The president filed a similar case last week when he announced that Coca-Cola agreed to use cane sugar in the United States at his urging.

Trump’s sugar recognition seems to be with a man known for his preference for dietary coke, which seems unusual, which is sugar-free.

But this is just the latest example of his support for the industry, which has been known for decades in Washington, with its political donations, the ability to get White House on the phone, and legendary lobbying.

“No [expletive] Former Republican House Speaker John Boehner pointed out in his memoir.

The industry has long benefited from government policies, including high tariffs that have already supported the price of sugar in the U.S., which is often twice the global price, providing producers with billions of dollars in additional costs each year.

Under the Trump administration, the United States has expanded these support, tightened restrictions on imports and increased price guarantees for sugar farmers, as part of the Trump-supported “Big Beautiful Act.”

Meanwhile, Trump’s health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has targeted the industry’s biggest competitor and threatened to ban corn syrup, which he calls “poison.”

The Sugar Alliance, which represents the industry, did not respond to a request for comment on Coca-Cola’s decision, which Trump praised.

But analysts say the move puts sugar farmers in their best shape, increases demand and ultimately gets how much crops are.

“They all have restrictions that support foreign competition and encourage more sugar use,” said Colin Grabow, a trade expert at the Cato Institute. “It’s amazing for them.”

Industry experts say Coca-Cola’s plan is unlikely to lead to a sudden wholesale transfer to sugar, pointing to high prices of ingredients and restrictions on domestic supply. But it’s just this possibility that causes waves in the food industry.

Corn syrup maker Archer Daniels Midland briefly fell more than 6% before recovery, while the Corn Refinery Association, which represents corn syrup manufacturers, warned of losses in rural jobs and other economic losses.

Iowa corn farmer John Maxwell, who has farmed a family since the 1850s, said he was surprised by the president’s position because his way was that he became the champion of American jobs.

“He worked hard to exercise the horn…so it was surprising for me to take a stand.”

Iowa pig and corn farmer Bob Hemesath is equally confused.

“Stay away from high fructose corn syrup will hurt work here and hurt farmers here, which is contrary to everything the president and his administration is trying to do,” he said.

Vincent Smith, director of agricultural policy research at the American Enterprise Institute, said he was surprised to see risk support from corn growers — his foundation is a key part of his base and is traditionally strong in Washington.

It’s also a much bigger sugar farmer than sugar farmers, who only have 4,000 people in the United States and less than a quarter of them produce sugar cane.

“Do you want to alienate 200,000 people or 4,000 families?” he asked, noting that his review of political contributions between 2018 and 2022 found that despite the small number, members of the Sugar Alliance contributed more than any other agricultural interest group.

According to OpenSecrets, in recent years, Trump-backed groups have been groups that have received substantial donations from Sugar Titans, Florida.

“If you can write a big check for the election or the president, you really have access to it,” Smith said.

In January, when Coca-Cola showed Trump a personalized dietary coke can, Trump used sugar use with the company and called Jose Fanjul to discuss the issue, according to Josh Dawsey’s New Book of 2024: Trump: How Trump Retired on the White House.

Whether Americans will do this remains an open question.

Coca-Cola has been offering Mexican Coke in the United States for twenty years and they have gained attention from customers such as Hayes.

However, the company’s decision to start selling it has to do with leveraging the immigration market and nostalgia for glass bottles, rather than health or flavor benefits.

In recent years, due to sugar concerns and the rise of anti-obesity drugs, its main focus has been swelling low and no sugar options, which threatens its control over the beverage market.

Health experts say there is no definite evidence to prove a preference for one sweetener over another.

Both sugars increase all risk factors, and there is no significant difference between them, says Kimber Stanhope, a researcher and nutritional biologist at the University of California, Davis.

She said there are questions about the accuracy of corn syrup used in soda, which could lead to health differences outside the lab. But she refuted the argument that regular sugar is less processed because it is “completely questionable” and noted that both products require stripping fiber and other nutritional benefits.

The debate over whether cane sugar is truly excellent candy flavor may also continue to bubble.

Richard Trappasse is a 48-year-old young man living in Tennessee who consumes one or two cups of Coke every day and collects Coca-Cola souvenirs such as decorations and vintage glass bottles. He is proud to be able to distinguish Coca-Cola from Pepsi by the number of bubbles.

After hearing about the hype about Mexican Coke a few years ago, he invited his wife’s help to perform blind, side-by-side taste tests on two different recipes.

“The first thing I said was, ‘Did you fool me with the same soda in a glass?'” “And I was like, ‘They tasted exactly the same’.”

Despite his own indifference, Mr Trapas said he believes Trump’s sugar championship would attract doubts about corn syrup and his sensibility to the past.

“We’re going to bring sugar back to our classic Coca-Cola product – to hit it with his fans,” he said.