Sweeteners: The Sweet'n'Low-down

Candy, cookies, cakes and other sweets no longer need to be your guilty pleasure.  From baking to beverages, from honey to stevia to agave, you have your choice of sweeteners that are helping create a cleaner environment and a more just marketplace.

Sugar

Sugar is a valuable commodity that is produced and traded globally. Today, about 80% of the sugar consumed in the US is domestically produced from cane and sugar beets*; 20% is imported from developing countries. If you’re looking to stick with U.S. produced sugar, go for certified organic. If buying imported products, look for certified Fair Trade and Organic sugar.

*Refined sugar from GMO sugar beets or conventionally grown cane is generally cultivated with the use of pesticides, herbicides and, in the case of sugar beets, genetically modified seeds.  Synthetic and chemically processed flocculants, clarification agents and filter aids to process the juice, which is then crystallized, re-liquefied, and repeatedly re-crystallized. Along the way, the sugar is decolorized with sodium, bleaches or bone char (the reason conventionally refined sugar is not recommended for vegetarians) to de-colorize the final product. (Beet sugar processing often uses sulfuric acid.)


Buy preferably-made sugar

wholesome sweeteners
Wholesome Sweeteners
Fair Trade Certified and organic sugar
Alter Eco Unrefined ground cane sugar

Honey

Organic and Fair Trade honey is now available, but you can support your local economy and ecology by picking up locally produced honey at farmers’ markets or roadside stands in your neighborhood.

Why It Matters

PBS Nature Special: The Silence of the Bees

People have been keeping bees and eating honey since the days of the ancient Egyptians and it has even been used to treat wounds. These days, farmers around the world employ beekeepers and their bees to pollinate their crops. It’s estimated that about $15 billion worth of seeds and crops in the U.S., mostly the produce and nuts we eat, are pollinated by honeybees.

So it is no surprise that farmers, beekeepers, and ecologists are concerned about the honeybees that have been mysteriously disappearing since 2006. Beekeepers around the country were reporting losses of 30-90%. This phenomenon, dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder, does not have a proven cause, but some attribute it to the widespread use of agricultural pesticides.  Many other causes, from disease to stress, are being investigated right now.

The communities and people who raise the bees are also in danger. About 70% of the honey sold in the US is imported. Buying Fair Trade certified honey helps maintain a just global trade, fair wages for foreign honey producers, and a safer environment for both bees and people.

Buy Honey

Wholesome Sweeteners
Organic and raw honey
Glory Bee Organic and raw honey
Zambezi Honey Organic, Fair Trade, Raw Forest Honey from Zambia

 

Other Sweeteners

There are many other ways to satisfy your sweet tooth; some are even okay for diabetics.  Check out Care2’s Directory of Natural Sweeteners and read up on everything from agave nectar to stevia. (Note that the FDA recognized stevia as safe in December 2008.) The page also provides information on suggested uses and equivalents for cooking.

Why it’s important

Poor farmers in the Developing World are vulnerable to fluctuating market prices, environmental degradation by sugar plantation owners and operators, and hazardous working conditions. Large amounts of herbicides and pesticides are commonly sprayed on sugar cane crops and burning and processing of sugar crops causes serious pollution of the ground, waterways and the air.

On the other hand, Fair Trade Certified sugar cane is sold at a preset market price and to sweeten the deal, buyers agree to pay additional premiums above and beyond that market price. Farmers’ cooperatives invest the premiums in sustainable and organic agricultural programs and to develop community resources. Projects can include safe water wells, energy grids, schools, clinics, and transportation infrastructure. Farmers agree to follow strict standards regarding the use and handling of pesticides, the protection of natural waters, local ecosystems, and the management of erosion and waste.

Learn more...

WWF Overview of Sugar Cane Production and its Environmental Impacts
Transfair USA, see their sugar and honey programs
Co-op America article on Fair Trade sugar
Care2’s Directory of Natural Sweeteners
USDA Q&A on Colony Collapse Disorder
PBS Nature Special: Silence of the Bees

 

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If you would like for your company to be listed in the Conscious Consumer Marketplace, please email Carolyn Danckaert or call 301.891.3683 ext. 125.