In the current increasingly health-aware culture, sugar receives substantial criticism. Refusal of sugar is usually justified by two reasons: excessive weight and weight loss or health problems. Regular consumption of sweet food leads to an increase in body weight and the risk of diabetes, the development of heart or vascular diseases, and the weakening of the immune system. Removing sugar and food from the diet means reducing the negative impact on the bodys functioning, which has developed due to prolonged and uncontrolled consumption of sugar and sugar-containing products. A commonly proposed solution is to shift to sweeteners a great option to improve health and advance ones diet.
The Need for Sweeteners
First, it is important to understand that sweeteners have a taste, which is similar to eating carbohydrates. The glycemic index (GI) is lower than glucose and fructose, but the caloric content is almost the same as sugar. Sweeteners are substances the molecules of which act on the taste buds. According to Pang, Goossens, and Blaak, a large amount of sugar in the diet can cause diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, hormonal irregularities, liver diseases, problems with intestinal microflora, and premature aging (4). By giving up sugar or at least reducing its dosage, one can significantly improve well-being and avoid many diseases. Then, Gibson et al. state that sweeteners can be a solution for those who are forbidden sugar (240). They can be added not only to drinks but also to food. Choosing such a supplement removes the necessity to constantly monitor the glucose level in the blood as long as the dietary daily intake rate is not exceeded.
Satisfying the Need for Sweeteners
The most popular and safe natural sweetener is stevia it does not contain calories and does not increase blood glucose levels. Stevia can be consumed by people with diabetes and those on a diet. Pang, Goossens, and Blaak claim that it has a beneficial effect on the digestive and immune systems, reduces the risk of caries, protects tooth enamel, and prevents cardiovascular diseases (8). Hence, the modern level of related production technologies allows the creation of sweeteners that provide one with a plethora of benefits.
Visualizing Sweeteners
It is important to distinguish two types of sugar substitutes: artificial and natural. According to Yu et al., artificial sweeteners contain substances created by chemical means (550). They have zero calories but, at the same time, have a rich taste that surpasses sugar significantly. Natural sweeteners are plant-based and are considered the safest, but they are high in calories. One can replace sugar in a daily diet not only with sweeteners but also with natural products with a similar taste. Most of them are high in calories, so this option is suitable for those who want to start eating right and not lose weight.
Conclusion
In the end, it should be stressed that before completely giving up sugar and switching to the constant use of sweeteners, it is necessary to consult a specialist. In general, the limited presence of sugar in nutrition is possible for physical and emotional health, but it is not a solution without flaws. It might be preferable to replace sugar sweets with healthy alternatives, such as an apple instead of an ordinary pastille. Overall, sweeteners are a healthier option as long as consumption is moderate.
Works Cited
Gibson, Sigrid et al. What Can the Food and Drink Industry Do to Help Achieve the 5% Free Sugars Goal? Perspectives in Public Health, vol. 137, no. 4, 2017, pp. 237247.
Yu, Zhigang, et al. Artificial Sweeteners Stimulate Horizontal Transfer of Extracellular Antibiotic Resistance Genes through Natural Transformation. The ISME Journal, vol. 16., no. 2, 2022, pp. 543554.
Pang, Michelle D., Gijs H. Goossens, and Ellen E. Blaak. The Impact of Artificial Sweeteners on Body Weight Control and Glucose Homeostasis. Frontiers in Nutrition, vol. 7, 2021, pp. 119.
Without any doubt, sugar is a grave problem in the modern world, as it caused severe health issues and appeals to numerous individuals at the same time. Experts in many different fields, ranging from biochemistry to the economy, argue about eliminating its adverse effects. Scientists endeavor to create effective and realistic alternatives to sugar, while policymakers concentrate on workable legislation to reduce sugar consumption. Caitlin Dewey focused on the latter, stated her position, and supported it with sound arguments in the article The Case for Taxing Sugar, not Soda. She discussed the benefits and drawbacks of taxing sugary beverages, presented another option with its advantages and disadvantages, and explained why policymakers ignore the most effective one. In general, the article contains powerful arguments, explains the issue entirely and carefully, and appears to be objective, as it includes two points of view.
Main body
First, Dewey mentioned different perspectives on taxing sugary beverages with their advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, she proved that it is better to tax the amount of sugar rather than the number of fluid ounces. The reason for it is that such taxes can reduce sugar consumption by 25%, and it is 3% more than the ones focusing on fluid ounces (Dewey, 1). Moreover, the first option can ease the consumer burden and encourage manufacturers to reformulate some of their products (Dewey, 1). On the other hand, Dewey admitted that the second option is more cost-effective and realistic on the local level. Therefore, the article seems to be unbiased because it critically evaluates the issue from different points of view.
Second, Dewey presented sound arguments supported by the quotes of professionals in different fields. The author emphasized the importance of the study conducted by Donald Marron and his colleagues at the Urban Institute and analyzed its results. She also included the information presented by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and the American Hearn Organizations. Undoubtedly, all the claims of the representatives of such respectable institutions should be taken into account before making any conclusions regarding taxing sugary beverages.
Finally, the author clearly explained the thorny issue by using figures and emphasizing essential details so that readers can see the big picture. For example, Dewey successfully described all the differences between taxes focusing on the amount of sugar and the ones concentrating on the number of ounces. Furthermore, she analyzed different aspects of the problem paying attention to even small details. According to Dewey, In the United States, seven cities and one county have passed soda taxes: Philadelphia, San Francisco, Cook County, Illinois (which includes Chicago), Boulder, Colorado, and Berkeley, Oakland and Albany, California (1). Hence, even if readers are likely to forget many facts soon, they get a better understanding of the issue and can make their judgments regardless of the authors perspective.
Conclusion
In conclusion, The Case for Taxing Sugar, not Soda is an excellent example of an unbiased and informative article, which encourages readers to consider the issue of taxing sugary beverages on their own. Deweys arguments are strong and compelling, as she not only shared her perspective but also included the claims of the dedicated professionals. The author also described two different views on the issue and explained their advantages and disadvantages. Besides, she presented numerous details, which largely contribute to readers understanding. Therefore, the article written by Dewey is worth deep consideration and appreciation.
Work Cited
Dewey, Caitlin. The Case for Taxing Sugar, not Soda. The Washington Post, 2016.
This paper summarizes the article titled Feasibility Study of Sucrose and Fat Replacement Using Inulin and Rebaudioside A in Cake Formulations by Majzoobi et al. (2018). The authors begin with clarifying the intent of their study and state that the demand for healthier foods increases. They also claim that sugar and fat reduction or replacement requires compensating for the quality of cakes, which means that further studies are necessary.
Objective and Methods
To define the objective of their study, Majzoobi et al. (2018) provide a brief literature review. They state that the majority of recent studies focus on either fat or sucrose reduction, while their simultaneous replacement is not properly researched. Therefore, the authors decided to explore the feasibility of the simultaneous replacement of fat and sugar in cakes as healthier options. Namely, Rebaudioside A is taken as an alternative for sucrose, and inulin is used instead of fat.
The researchers used wheat flour from Tak Makacroon, inulin from Fibruline, sugar from Cosucra, and Rebaudioside Afrom Yunhe Stevioside. A series of experiments began with batter and cake preparation and the measurement of batter viscosity using a Rapid Visco Analyzer. After that, weight loss on baking was identified, and the calculation of volume, height, and symmetry index of the cakes was made. For example, cakes were cut in the middle to determine symmetry, while a rape seed displacement method was applied for measuring cake volumes. In addition, Majzoobi et al. (2018) explored the texture, color, and water activity of the cakes. A Texture Analyzer was used in a two-bite compression test to measure textural properties, while a digital image analysis method was chosen for analyzing crust colors of cakes. A metal spoon was used to crush small pieces and determine water activity in cakes. All these experiments were analyzed by means of statistical analysis, namely, Excel allowed calculating the average and standard deviations.
Results
The article presents detailed statistical findings that are properly discussed. The authors report that the simultaneous and significant replacement of fat and sugar is associated with quality reduction. The textural changes were more significant compared to color, volume, and baking loss of the cakes. 75% and 100% of replacement are considered infeasible due to their pale crust, low volume, asymmetry, and hard texture. Moreover, the storage for three days revealed the increasing hardness. Springiness, cohesiveness, and hardness were assessed based on fat and sucrose levels, namely, 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%. Majzoobi et al. (2018) state that their findings are only partially consistent with other studies, which is explained by different sources of sucrose and fat replacements used.
Conclusion
To conclude, this article contributes to the field of nutrition studies. The recommended replacement level of sugar and fat is 50%, but the textural and color properties of cakes can change. Personally, I have learned several methods that would be useful for my future research. It seems that the digital image analysis method would be important to analyze large amounts of data to obtain more reliable results. Another potential benefit of this method is its accuracy, which is critical to make sure that studies are rigorous. In addition, statistical analysis is useful for generating new data based on a range of initial data from different experiments. Likewise in the given study, I hope to explore my subject of interest from different points to make sure the findings are reliable.
Reference
Majzoobi, M., Mohammadi, M., Mesbahi, G., & Farahnaky, A. (2018). Feasibility study of sucrose and fat replacement using inulin and rebaudioside A in cake formulations. Journal of Texture Studies, 49(5), 468-475.
Sugar is one of the most common nutritional elements present in the majority of plants and many animal products. The benefits of consuming sugar include increased energy level and improved thinking capacity. However, these and other advantages are related only to natural sugars. Meanwhile, modern supermarkets offer a wide variety of products containing added sugar, which has a detrimental effect on health. The most dangerous outcomes of high sugar intake are the increased risk of obesity and tooth caries and heightened energy use required to compensate for excessive sugar consumption.
Sugar is one of the main contributors to a variety of diseases prevailing among US citizens. Such health issues as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, dental problems, and others can develop in the organism of an individual who consumes too much sugar. Young people are particularly susceptible to excessive sugar use due to its high levels in sugar-sweetened beverages, which are popular with children and teenagers (Rosinger, Herrick, Gahche, & Park, 2017). Risks exist for all age groups and social levels, causing health deterioration of many people in the USA. Healthcare practitioners should take measures and spread information on the negative effects of high sugar consumption and the ways of reducing the risks.
1st Counter-Argument: The Increased Risk of Obesity
The first significant negative effect of high sugar consumption is the elevated likelihood of obesity. According to Stanhope (2015), elevated sugar intake leads to the unregulated hepatic uptake and metabolism of fructose (p. 52). As a consequence, one develops low insulin sensitivity and high uric acid levels. Furthermore, increased sugar consumption can lead to the development and prevalence of dyslipidemia, fatty liver, hyperuricemia, and insulin resistance (Stanhope, 2015). These conditions have a negative effect on body mass index, which can result in diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the increased risk of obesity, which is the first severe outcome of abusing sugar, can further trigger other serious health problems.
1st Rebuttal
It is true that overconsumption of carbohydrates might be correlated with an increase in the likelihood of obesity, but the statement that sugar is only or the main reason for the given condition is faulty. In other words, sugar is one of the many sources of dietary calories, but other carbohydrates can also be the contributing factors for obesity. The latter is most likely to be the result of either genetic predispositions or overconsumption of food.
Therefore, the logical leap of correlating sugar and obesity is similar to stating that liquid beverage consumption contributes to road accident incidents. It is simply incorrect to present such a generalized claim, where we know that alcoholic beverages mostly increase the risk of car crashes. In the article, it is stated that beverages consisting of 30% Ereq sucrose or high fructose corn syrup were consumed without any significant negative effect on health (Stanhope, 2015). The study shows that the data on sugar being a primary cause of obesity is highly controversial because fructose consumption has no special adverse effect on consumers. Thus, the argument fails to encompass the bigger picture of the obesity epidemic because the most likely reason is overconsumption.
2nd Counter-Argument: The Damage to Tooth Caries
Another important fact against the excessive sugar intake if the effect on ones dental health. According to Pitts et al. (2017), specialists in dental ecology, oral biology, and operative dentistry, tooth caries is the disease driven by sugar misuse. When a person eats or drinks too many sugary products, dental hard tissues demineralize. Tooth caries can damage the tooth crown and exposed root surfaces (Pitts et al., 2017). Since dental health issues can have a negative effect on other organs and body systems, it is crucial to eliminate the risk of the most detrimental trigger of caries sugar.
2nd Rebuttal
The second argument follows a similar pattern of the previous one, where a single item is presented as a cause of the larger and complex issues. It is important to understand the fact that tooth decay and dental health are primarily caused by microorganisms and their metabolites. Caries can be caused by a wide range of carbohydrates besides sugar, such as starch (Jayadevan et al., 2019). In addition, cariogenicity can also be influenced by the frequency of food ingestions because infrequent consumption starves the bacteria (Jayadevan et al., 2019). Thus, the given argument has little merit regarding dental health, because it only states one of the many reasons for the issue as the main one. However, there is a need for stronger evidence that would put sugar either as a sole or major contributing factor for caries.
3rd Counter-Argument: A Heightened Energy Use Required
Finally, it is necessary to note the negative effect of sugar abuse on energy. The use of added sugar is beneficial when it is kept within limits. However, as DiNicolantonio and Berger (2016) report, excessive consumption of sugar leads to detrimental changes in the organism, such as conditions associated with heart disease or obesity. To alleviate the negative impact of sugar, people should exercise intensively. Since not many sugar-lovers are ready to engage in physical activities, they should reduce their sugar intake.
3rd Rebuttal
The last argument can be stated to be the faultiest one due to the lack of connectedness between the statements. Both heart disease and obesity are highly complex health problems, which are caused by a multitude of factors, which may or may not include sugar. There is almost no logical link between heart disease and energy levels because it is commonly known that extremely active and energetic people can have heart problems (Skalik & Furst, 2017). Obesity was dismissed because it was discussed that it is a complex issue in previous paragraphs. On the contrary, it was stated that the consumption of sweetened beverages could lead to an increase in hyperactivity among consumers (Schwartz et al., 2015). In other words, the consumption of sugar can raise energy levels to such a degree that a consumer suffers from it.
In addition, there is a need for evidence that sugar-lovers are not willing to engage in physical activities because an active sportsperson can also like sugar. Even if the term sugar-lover is regarded for people with obesity and the latter assumption was true, the recommendations have no merit. Reducing sugar intake and exercising will not change the energy levels or obesity because one can completely avoid sugar and gain excess weight by consuming a lot of calories in the form of starches and fats.
Conclusion of Counter-Arguments
The risk of obesity and dental caries and the need to use energy intensively are the main negative causes of increased sugar intake. Each of these adverse effects can lead to severe health complications both in children and adults. Healthcare providers have to educate populations on the risks of elevated sugar consumption and look for solutions to the problem that is gaining more and more resonance at present.
Conclusion of Rebuttals
In conclusion, the arguments presented in the first two statements might be partially true, but it is important to understand that complex problems, such as obesity, should be analyzed by stating a multitude of factors. Therefore, no single cause or correlational component should be seen as a primary cause. The third argument possesses no merit to be regarded as fully or partially true because it fails to draw logical connections between heart problems, obesity, sugar intake, and exercise.
References
DiNicolantonio, J. J., & Berger, A. (2016). Added sugars drive nutrient and energy deficit in obesity: A new paradigm. Open Heart, 3(2), e000469. Web.
Jayadevan, A., Chakravarthy, D., Padmaraj, S. N., VijayaRaja, S., Bal, L., & Dimple, N. (2019). Dental caries and sugar substitutes: A review. IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences, 18(5), 13-23. Web.
Pitts, N. B., Zero, D. T., Marsh, P. D., Ekstrand, K., Weintraub, J. A., Ramos-Gomez, F., & Ismail, A. (2017). Dental caries. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 3, 17030. Web.
Stanhope, K. L. (2015). Sugar consumption, metabolic disease and obesity: The state of the controversy. Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, 53(1), 5267. Web.
Sugar is one of the most common nutritional elements present in the majority of plants and many animal products. The benefits of consuming sugar include increased energy level and improved thinking capacity. However, these and other advantages are related only to natural sugars. Meanwhile, modern supermarkets offer a wide variety of products containing added sugar, which has a detrimental effect on health. The most dangerous outcomes of high sugar intake are the increased risk of obesity and tooth caries and heightened energy use required to compensate for excessive sugar consumption.
Context
Sugar is one of the main contributors to a variety of diseases prevailing among US citizens. Such health issues as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, dental problems, and others can develop in the organism of an individual who consumes too much sugar. Young people are particularly susceptible to excessive sugar use due to its high levels in sugar-sweetened beverages, which are popular with children and teenagers (Rosinger, Herrick, Gahche, & Park, 2017). Risks exist for all age groups and social levels, causing health deterioration of many people in the USA. Healthcare practitioners should take measures and spread information on the negative effects of high sugar consumption and the ways of reducing the risks.
1st Con-Point: The Increased Risk of Obesity
The first significant negative effect of high sugar consumption is the elevated likelihood of obesity. According to Stanhope (2015), elevated sugar intake leads to the unregulated hepatic uptake and metabolism of fructose (p. 52). As a consequence, one develops low insulin sensitivity and high uric acid levels. Furthermore, increased sugar consumption can lead to the development and prevalence of dyslipidemia, fatty liver, hyperuricemia, and insulin resistance (Stanhope, 2015). These conditions have a negative effect on body mass index, which can result in diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Therefore, the increased risk of obesity, which is the first severe outcome of abusing sugar, can further trigger other serious health problems.
2nd Con-Point: The Damage to Tooth Caries
Another important fact against the excessive sugar intake if the effect on ones dental health. According to Pitts et al. (2017), specialists in dental ecology, oral biology, and operative dentistry, tooth caries is the disease driven by sugar misuse. When a person eats or drinks too many sugary products, dental hard tissues demineralize. Tooth caries can damage the tooth crown and exposed root surfaces (Pitts et al., 2017). Since dental health issues can have a negative effect on other organs and body systems, it is crucial to eliminate the risk of the most detrimental trigger of caries sugar.
3rd Con-Point: A Heightened Energy Use Required
Finally, it is necessary to note the negative effect of sugar abuse on energy. The use of added sugar is beneficial when it is kept within limits. However, as DiNicolantonio and Berger (2016) report, excessive consumption of sugar leads to detrimental changes in the organism, such as conditions associated with heart disease or obesity. To alleviate the negative impact of sugar, people should exercise intensively. Since not many sugar-lovers are ready to engage in physical activities, they should reduce their sugar intake.
Conclusion
The risk of obesity and dental caries and the need to use energy intensively are the main negative causes of increased sugar intake. Each of these adverse effects can lead to severe health complications both in children and adults. Healthcare providers have to educate populations on the risks of elevated sugar consumption and look for solutions to the problem that is gaining more and more resonance at present.
References
DiNicolantonio, J. J., & Berger, A. (2016). Added sugars drive nutrient and energy deficit in obesity: A new paradigm. Open Heart, 3(2), e000469. Web.
Pitts, N. B., Zero, D. T., Marsh, P. D., Ekstrand, K., Weintraub, J. A., Ramos-Gomez, F., & Ismail, A. (2017). Dental caries. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 3, 17030. Web.
Stanhope, K. L. (2015). Sugar consumption, metabolic disease and obesity: The state of the controversy. Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, 53(1), 5267. Web.
According to latest data, sugar cane in which sugar is abstracted from, is the third most precious crop after cereals, rice, and inhibits 26,942,686 square measures of the land crosswise the globe. It principal output, besides from commercial profits, is global public health difficulty. Which has been period of time in the making. This essay will discuss the history of sugar and its impacts on the making of the modern world, further tracing the spread of the plant in different continents, and discuss its role in bringing about significant changes in world history. Also focus on the influence that the sugar had on the making of Natal’s history.
Sugar was first initiated from sugarcane plants in the northern India sometime after the first century. Sugar continues to exist as one of the significant virtuous mysteries. In the eighteenth century, it was much more high-priced in actual terms than the cercal. Before the sixteenth century the whole of European world had manage with little quantities of sugar, a minimal pinch per head for the whole of history. The glories produced on the basis of a teaspoonful per head of the sugar per year. Sugar is unnecessary to attempt, but it is addictive. Sugarcane is native to Polynesia, where it was invested with near-magical properties, a mythology arising, perhaps, from the fact that tiny pieces were found washed upon on foreign shores, where they said to grow. This was the ‘explanation’ of its movement to China and India. In China it was chewed as an aphrodisiac sweetmeat in about 1000 B.C., but was first clarified into sugar as such in India some three hundred years later, at Bihar on the Ganges, and hence introduced as sugar to China. Indian sugar was made from diversity canes called Puri, and it was this variety that spread slowly westward for the next two thousand years. Long before sugar was distilled and crystallized, honey was the great sweetener (the bee is a very efficient sugar concentrator).
There seems to be a clear connection between the weather and the sweet tooth. Countries with vine-growing climate were much more modest consumers of sugar or honey than those countries which could not produce vine. The sugar industry pulled through the cautious removal of the upland from the Mediterranean littoral, and was carried on by both Moslems and Christians as a profitable, enlarging concern for two hundred years from about 1300. The trade was under the superiority of the merchant bankers of Italy, with Venice eventually controlling distribution throughout then known world.
The first sugar reached England in 1319, Denmark in 1374, and Sweden in 1390. It was an expensive novelty, and useful in medicine, being unmatched for making tasty the odious mixtures of therapeutic herbs, entrails, and other substances of the medieval pharmacopeia. In two hundred years the price of the sugar and honey declined dramatically reduction were because of the increased production in the cane industry, since honey has always borne a premium price relationship to sugar in more modern time. These were the years when the first sugar from canes grown outside the Mediterranean became obtainable on the European markets.
The white sugar addicts become accountable to obesity, tooth issues, and malnutrition, the last leads in uttermost cases to the kind of ‘crowding out’, which can cause vitamin and mineral deficiency problem and probably even cancer of intestines. Because of the pace with which the white sugar becomes accessible to the metabolism, the sugar addicts’ blood-sugar level rises and fall rapidly at the pancreas work overly hard to deal with high inputs of sucrose to the stomach. The body becomes used to a shortage or feast syndrome in the blood sugar, and produces an addiction which is chemical, not psychological. A true addicts cannot do without some kind of reinforcement at very frequent intervals.
In England, where heavy consumption of white sugar arose earlier than in other country, the inclination for the white bread also began as a results of sugar addiction. This sugar industry ultimately gave way to the more profitable vineyards. Sugar was always commercial, while the other crops were riskier. Sugar was also a growing market, since the addictions, eventually there was the gross feeding nature of the sugar plant itself, which made the agriculture of sugar cane a hard exercise in the state of art in Medieval agriculture. Sugar cane dependence was great enough dependence to conduct the new world into the estimation to redress the balance of the old in the Europe of 1600, only Spain produced sugar in quantity.
The rise in the price of sugar over the last 30 years of the sixteenth century was partly resulted by inflation, in turn caused by the increase in money supply throughout Europe. The sugar increased at a compound rate of 5% per year in the seventeenth century, by 7% in the eighteenth, by nearly 10% in the nineteenth. All sugar colonies, of whatever nation, had white-dominated pre sugar history. In many years ago Barbados was the greatest sugar producer in the trade. The canes were crushed in mills, and the sugar then boiled out of the cane in a series or open tanks in sugar house.
Processing sugar is similar to refining oil, the heavier and blacker the fragments are drained off first, leaving crude brown or yellow sugar, which then re-dissolved and recrystallized into the whiter and finer variations. Today, every grade of sugar can be obtained from cane sugar from molasses through black sugar, the various brown sugar, and then the finer white. In the 17th century a tiny, primitive, on-farm mill would only produce molasses and one grade of sugar. The heat was fierce, since there was no means of cooling the sugar house. Temperature of 140f were recorded, and even at night, the temperature near the vat would be well be over 120 degrees Celsius. Humidity would also be very high and therefore exhausting. It was a job for blacks, not whites, slaves, not freemen.
In historically key sugar growing regions, Indians themselves turned to growing cane, a tendency that started to be noted lawfully around the turn of. Entertainingly, Bodasing made his money in sugar. However, much of Indian agriculture made in Natal focused particularly in the rich of flood-prone alluvial valleys near Durban. The number of Indian-owned farms in Natal reached 2,575 in 1920/21 and declined slightly to 2,545 in 1925/26. In 1945, 1,229 Natal-Indian cane growers farmed (and largely owned) 71620 acres of land. The number was relatively stagnant, growers farmed 68,485 acres in 1954, 56,992 in 1961 and 61.040 in 1970,71 with little further increase thereafter.
During the inter-war years, cane farmers were able to enlarge acreage and productivity land values rose due to heavy state support. During this period cane growing became a mono culture for most Indian farmers an organization distance from the Durban metropolitan market. Cane is more suitable to marginal land and vagaries of rainfall in coastal Natal than most other crops. White Natal Indians at the beginning of 1970 constituted more than twenty percent of all sugar glories in the province, they owned only one-twelfth of the cane acreage and produced only one-sixteenth of the sugar, a considerable decline from generation earlier.
The particular needs of sugar cane, especially at harvesting time, meant also a growing dependence on the hired labor of even poorer African workers (to an important extent women by the 1960s), and on labor contractors to provide it. In KwaZulu- Natal the ownership land and production of sugar cane is highly skewed with a few big landowners present. Maasdorp found early in 1960s for the Verulam-Tongaat area that while 59 percent of farmers controlled under 20 acres, the top one percent of growers owned over 200 acres apiece. As Indian peasants withdrew from agricultural commitments, moreover, they produced relatively less sugar and their general economic import declined.
The Agricultural Credit Board of the South African Sugar Association loaned money at low rates to farmers, from 1722, the association offered extension services to Indian can growers. The Bodasing interests have substantially increased their production of sugar cane over the past 15 years. They and some others have found the means to invest in improved equipment and farming methods. The Natal Indian Cane Growers Association overly addresses it members as a community of rural bosses in discussing (fearfully) the possibility of African farm-worker’s unionization.
From seven percent of South African’s sugar in1961, Indian growers now produce no more than four percent. Despite the significant different between measurements the state produce introduced explored above, by 1960 market gardening and cane growing shared in common the reality is that they had become in a large part of economically residual activities. African cane growers have become economically far more important than Indians.
Sugar cane has had an important and long history in south Africa, one of that it has had a big effect on the economy and culture of the country. We take a look at the history of this sweet plant on the east coast. The majority of the sugar mills in the country are located in KwaZulu-Natal, making it the sugar cane epicenter of South Africa. The sugar cane industry estimated to provide 79,000 direct jobs and 350,000 indirect jobs, making it a significant percent of the total agriculture workforce. Today KwaZulu-Natal has some of the best sugar crops in the world, which has shaped the unique way Durban has developed.
The Indian percentage of sugar cane workers in the fields rarely exceeded 80 percent. However, the association was in fact close and strong, sugar and indenture system expanded together. Sugar plantations employed a maximum of 83 percent of indentured workers at the peak in 1875, but only 54 percent in 1895, 40 percent in 1900 and 27 percent in 1909. The expansion of sugar industry in the early twentieth century would have required redouble efforts aimed at massively increasing the scale of indenture if that were to continue as the basis of the sugar industry. This would have been politically impossible in Natal.
Sugar has had many impacts on the making of the modern world. It has been used as medicine, a spice, a symbol of royalty and an instrument of disease, addiction, and oppression over the past years. And it has also had impacts including the obesity epidemic and other diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes has spread across every nation where sugar-based carbohydrates have become to dominate to the food economy.
In 1948, the first sugar was cultivars were imported from Mauritius, this had an influence upon urban form of present-day Durban. Since it proved to be so successful that the first mill was built on the compensation flat in 1850, in 1852 the Jane Morice sailed from Mauritius. By 1855 there were many other mills that were in operation. Almost suddenly this started to have effect in other areas of Durban’s economy. The sugar industry was labor-intensive. The sugar began to became popular and was produced more overtime to meet people’s needs.
And sugar has changed the modern world in many ways including positive and negative ways. For instance, in positive ways, it plays a big role in the economy part, and in negative ways is that is can result in to several diseases among people’s health, for example people may suffer from diseases such as diabetes, obesity, etc., and this may result in deaths. However, everything has it bad and good sides. Today’s world cannot occupy without the presence of sugar, because basically almost everything is made with the touch of sugar. Sugar is also an addictive substance therefore the sugar addicts cannot do without. Which means although sugar can be effective in some negative ways but people need it and cannot survive without.
References
Henry Hobhouse. ‘Sugar and the Slave Trade’ in ‘Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind’ (New York Shoemaker & Hoard, 2005) 53-113.
Bill Freund. ‘A Passage from India: Indentured Immigrants Come to Natal, 1860-1911’, in ‘Insiders and Outsiders: The Indian Working Class of Durban, 1910-1990’ (Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press and London: James Currey, 1995), 1-10.
Bill Freund. ‘Rise and Fall of an Indian Peasantry in Natal’. Journal of Peasant Studies (1991, XVIII:2), 263-287.
Identity is a crucial concept in history and cultural studies. Cuban culture is a harmonious synthesis of several cultures: Spanish, African, and Afro-Cuban, while the identity of the Cubans has a unique set of characteristics. In the study Cuban Counterpoint: Tobacco and Sugar, published in 1940, Fernando Ortiz proposed approaches to understanding Cuban identity and defining the codes of national culture and its internal image. He carried out a kind of personification of sugar and tobacco, claiming that they are the main archetypes of the Cuban image. The scientist considered the primary task of studying the culture of Cuba from the inside, being a part of it, and focusing on the dynamics of complex processes of cultural interaction. As a result of it, in Cuba, new meanings and new cultural codes were born. Thus, thanks to Ortiz’s clear and precise statements about Cuban identity, it is possible to trace how the era of colonialism influenced Latin America.
“Questions on transculturation are vital for a better understanding of social phenomena, especially in Cuba” (Ortiz, 102). One of the most significant aspects of the book is the description of the concept of transculturation, which Ortiz uses to describe Cuban history. It is not only the second chapter’s central notion; this aspect runs through the entire composition with a thin thread. Using this term, the author explains in detail the “extremely complex cultural transmutations” that took place in Cuba (Ortiz, 98). It means that although Cuba was a Spanish colony for many centuries, it did not become its backup but created its unique culture from a mixture of Spanish, local and African elements. Ortiz takes pride in creating a unique Cuban culture that resisted the country’s degradation during its colonial period. Cubans’ awareness of their cultural identity and their stubborn resistance to cultural neo-colonialism are inextricably linked with the long and challenging process of gaining political sovereignty and the struggle for liberation from colonial dependence. Thus, the author explores the legacy of colonialism in Latin America through his description of the process of transculturation.
“When sugar is born, it is just sugar; it does not have his name” (Ortiz, 272). The author uses sugar as a metaphor for an alien culture since this product was brought to Cuba and adapted to regional characteristics by Europeans. Even though the sugar industry was the backbone of the Cuban economy on a par with tobacco, the author describes sugar production as a rough, mishmash, crushing, grinding, and blending. The natural bulk is transformed into a chemically homogeneous botanical lot to satisfy the human masses’ needs. Sugar is something ordinary, and it has neither form nor personality. Cuba’s history over the years has been associated with dependence on the sugar interests of foreigners who have always demanded the extraction of sugar for their enrichment, to the detriment of the country’s interests. Throughout the composition, the author contrasts sugar with tobacco, which reflects Ortiz’s attitude to the history of colonialism in Latin America. He discovered that sugar capitalism was a problem for Cuban national interests since the high degree of foreign ownership of sugar factories meant that the country was not sovereign but depended on the colonialists.
“Sugarcane and tobacco are all contrast” (Ortiz, 278). In almost every paragraph of the second chapter, Ortiz considers Cuba’s history from the perspective of studying the history of sugar and tobacco, which are the country’s economic base. Unlike sugar, tobacco is the original on Cuban soil; therefore, in any case, concerning tobacco, it is marked by thoroughness, purity, and nobility. In contradistinction to sugar, tobacco always has many names and brands, depending on the area, the owner of the plantation, the processor, the sowing and harvesting period, and the nature of drying. Tobacco is not only individual; it is national because tobacco is Cuban. The description of this product also contains Ortiz’s attitude to the spread of colonialism in Latin America. The author endows tobacco with the ideal properties, associating it with the Cuban national identity. According to the Ortiz, tobacco is native, and the smoking of the tobacco purifies. Thus, tobacco and sugar are the main protagonists of Cuban history. Their striking differences are reflected in the creation of the Cuban people themselves, their social stratification, political upheavals, and international relations.
Therefore, the production of sugarcane and tobacco plantations is inextricably linked with colonization, cheap labor, and oppression by foreigners, which Ortiz discussed in detail. The author tried to see the history of colonial domination in the reflection of sugar crystals. Sugarcane was a symbol of all Cuban reality, sweet to the oppressors and unbearably bitter to the Cuban people. At the same time, tobacco, which is native to Cuba, metaphorically represents Cuban authenticity. Ortiz associates the tobacco industry with art. Through a consideration of sugar and tobacco production, as well as the peculiarities of Cuban transculturation, the author was able to accurately describe the influence of colonialism on Latin America and characterize its legacy.
Work Cited
Ortiz, Fernando. Cuban Counterpoint: Tobacco and Sugar. Translated by Harriet de On´ıs. Durham: Duke University Press, 1995.
The prejudicial treatment of a person basing on being a member of a class or group is known as discrimination. It includes certain behaviors towards people such as preventing one group of people from opportunities that are available to the other groups. Discrimination is the culmination of traits and understanding of the distinctions between things, which comes in varying frames and forms (Appleby, 2007).
Fiction is a narrative work that deals with news and events that are not on facts but imaginary created by the author. A writer tries to determine peoples’ response to nature and activities by giving a report from a perspective, like a film maker through pointing of the camera shapes peoples’ reactions to a film. In fictions, a writer’s interpretation of a narrator, point of view, is essential to peoples’ experience as readers.
Narrators classified are either party or nonparticipant narrators. A narrator that is nonparticipant talks in the third person referring to actors by their names. Explicit way of stories characterized in concert known as drama. Drama is an operation performed by actors before an audience on stage assumes means of performance that are collaborative and a reaction that is combined. Combined response and collaborative writing directly prejudice it (Saputo, 2011).
Drama: No Sugar by Jack Davis
In the 20th Century, it is a recognized factor in Australia, and all over the rest of the world, that there was neglect of Aborigines since the settlement of the first western civilization, and for several years after the western culture. It is the most fundamental aim of dramas to highlight issues, such as racism, and thoughts in relation to these matters to life through dramatic presentations and the use of various techniques.
Jack Davis wrote a book of revisionist known as No Sugar in 1985, which was one of these dramas. Jack Davis brought issues and even expressed his own thoughts about issues such as the discrimination of the treatment of Aboriginal in 1930’s. The revisionist text of no sugar described life extensively, and thus offering a different perspective of the point of view of Aboriginal, on activities which came about during the period of the discrimination issue at hand (Davis, 1985).
No Sugar, the drama written by Jack Davis, highlights the exploitation of Aborigines in Australia in 1930’s. More explicitly, it concerned the relations of Millimurra, and their immense success against the whites and treated like substances in their own country. The stage play was present in Moore River and Northam, in Western Australia. Jack surveyed matters surrounding the behavior of Aborigines during that time and reflected his own thoughts concerning these issues.
One of the issues highlighted with reference to that time in No Sugar was how Aborigines were discriminated against, because of the color of their skin. For instance, in the first scene of the first act, Cissie complained because her and her brother went to get apples, and they were given shriveled up ones, while the children of the whites were given juicy apples. Jack used techniques of drama in order to make his thoughts about discrimination issues to individual. He used a conversation in this example and in a manner of characterization.
There is discrimination at the place of work. Being looked at or treated differently because of one’s race, religion, social rank, gender or any other characteristic is a form of discrimination (Rushefsky, 2008). At the place of work, discrimination takes place when a member of staff goes through harsh or discriminatory treatment because of their race, national origin, religion, experienced person or immobilized position, or any other characteristics protected by law (Mathis, 2010).
Human resources who have experienced acts of revenge for differing from discrimination of the place of work or for exposing violation to the government regarded to be discriminated against. In most of the countries, particular the developed ones, there are verdicts and laws that forbid discrimination in areas of work, such as hiring, recruiting, evaluations of job, policies of promotion, education, payments and actions of disciplinary (Nather, 2009).
Discrimination in place of work can be categorized as both direct and indirect. Discrimination that is open, entails treating a person less favorably because they possess a characteristic (for instance race, gender, age, socioeconomic status, beliefs, disability, national origin), contrasted with another person without that characteristic in the same situation (Swain, 2010).
An example of discrimination that is open would be, not recommending job to a woman because she is anticipated obtaining a maternity leave while a man is not. Discrimination that is implicit, entails setting state or a requirement, which a smaller percentage of those with the trait are capable of fulfilling, without rational justification (Heine & Lehman, 1997).
Ethics should be practiced mainly in the workplace. When given the task of being a leader, a person experiences many different situations (Wilson, 2003). What describe a leader are the way they carry on the circumstance, and the way they make up their minds (Leary & Tangney, 2003).
People working as administrators and employees have experienced and witnessed many circumstances, where personal and family matters have caused friction between the other employees and finally the leader. Like all predicaments that a leader is experiencing at the place of work, individual and family matters can be a delicate issue that requires to be handled in an assured such that the administrator is not in a situation that he or she may be blamed of managing the situation unethically (Heine & Lehman, 1997).
An administrator’s verdict in this state can also be prejudiced by social issues and sources from outside. When personal and family matters come up in the place of work, the management needs to think on how to handle the circumstances before they perform the action. If these ethics are put in practice, it will ensure that there is no discrimination against anyone (Crosby,2007).
Conclusion
In conclusion, discrimination is unethical issue. People should learn to treat the rest of people with equality and fairness. All people are the same and created by one Supreme Being. Fairness should be seen in the job markets, hospitals, market and the entire social structures (Martins, 2006).
This issue should be prevented and ensure that employers recruit with equality. People should be committed to a wide strategy of preventing discrimination, which works with organizations that regulate and assist them in developing and maintaining a culture of rights in the place of work.
More commissions and organizations should be created that will govern discrimination issues. Such institutions will be able to work with various media and technologies like the internet in ensuring that individuals access information of human rights. They should have a partner with community members and any other group to increase human rights commitment. Through stakeholders’ commitment, there is a hope of reducing the occurrence of discrimination, complaints associated to human rights, and support inclusiveness.
References
Appleby, S. (2007). Harassment and Discrimination: And Other Workplace Landmines. New York: Entrepreneur Press.
Crosby, F. (2007). Sex discrimination in the workplace: multidisciplinary perspectives. Oxford. Wiley-Blackwell.
Davis, J. M. (1985). No Sugar. New York: ABC-CLIO Publisher.
Heine, S. J., & Lehman, D. R. (1997). Culture, dissonance, and self-affirmation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. London, England: Penguin
Leary, M. R. & Tangney, J. P. (2003). Handbook of self and identity. New York: Guilford Press. Martins, M. (2006).Discrimination Law and Employment Issues. New Jersey: Thorogood Publishing.
Mathis, R. (2010). Human Resource Management. New York: Cengage Learning.
Nather, D. (2009). Discrimination: Everything You Need to Know. Health Ranger Digest, Vol. 45. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Rushefsky, E.(2008). Civil Rights policy in Australia. New York: M.E. Sharpe Publisher.
Saputo, L. (2011). Work Place: Revolution or evolution. New York. Cengage Publishers.
Swain, M. (2010). Discrimination issues in the 90s. New South Wales, N.S.W. Parliamentary. Wilson, F. (2003). Organizational Behaviour and Gender. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Throughout history, human beings have attempted to enhance their food by discovering suitable additives. The search for such substances led seafarers to leave their homes in search of new lands that might have spices and sweets. Sugar cane played a significant role in history because it contributed to trade and travel. One of the negative impacts is the expansion of slavery as a way to support sugar cane plantations. Today, sugar is among the most commonly used products – it is added in drinks, bakery, and meals. When discussing sugar cane, it is imperative to talk about its history and how it spread across the globe.
History of Sugar Cane
Historians have conflicting opinions about the geographical origin of sugar cane: either it was the fertile valleys in northeast India or the Polynesian islands in the South Pacific. However, botanical studies, ancient literary sources, and etymological data indicate India as the origin (Galloway 4). Many woody wild-growing varieties of sugar cane found there do not differ from modern forms in terms of the main characteristics (Galloway 4). Sugar cane was described in the Laws of Manu and other sacred books of the Hindus (Macinnis 7). The word “sugar” comes from the Sanskrit sarkara (gravel, sand) (Macinnis 7). Centuries later, this term entered the Arabic language as sukkar, and the medieval Latin as succarum (Macinnis 19).
From India, sugar cane came to China – earliest records date back to 800-700 BC (Macinnis 4). This fact was confirmed by several Chinese sources reporting that the people who lived in the Ganges valley taught the Chinese how to obtain sugar by chewing sugar cane stems (Macinnis 4). Ancient seafarers from China probably brought it to the Philippines, Java, and even to Hawaii. When many centuries later, Spanish sailors appeared in the Pacific Ocean, wild sugar cane had already been growing on many Pacific islands (Macinnis 9).
The first mention of sugar in ancient times dates back to the period of Alexander the Great’s expedition to India. In 325 BC, one of his generals, Nearchus, reported that there was reed that grows in India, which produces honey without the help of bees (Macinnis 2). Five hundred years later, Romans used sakcharon from India and Arabia as a medicine for diseases of the stomach, intestines, and kidneys (Macinnis 164). The Persians, too, adopted from the Indians the habit of consuming sugar. They also did a lot to improve the methods of its purification. Already in the seven-hundreds, Nestorian monks in the Euphrates Valley successfully made white sugar using ash to clean it (Macinnis 4).
Sugar in Europe appeared during the Crusades – the Arabs introduced sugar cane to the Crusaders (Galloway 5). The Arabs, who spread their territories to the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain during the period between seventh and ninth centuries, brought sugar cane culture to the Mediterranean (Galloway 36). A few centuries later, the Crusaders returning from the Holy Land introduced sugar to all of Western Europe (Galloway 5). As a result of the collision of these two significant expansions, Venice, which found itself at the crossroads of the trade routes of the Muslim and Christian world, eventually became the center of the European sugar trade and retained this status for more than 500 years (Galloway 41).
Columbus brought sugar cane to the Americas on his second trip to Santo Domingo. The cane was later brought to Cuba in 1493 (Galloway 5). The development of the sugar industry in Latin America caused the development of slavery. The Spanish conquistadors in 1516 brought the first slaves from Africa to Cuba (Galloway 62). At the beginning of the fifteenth century, Portuguese and Spanish sailors distributed sugar cane to the islands of the Atlantic Ocean. Plantations first appeared on Madeira, Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands (Galloway 52). In 1501, Pedro de Atienza planted sugar cane in Santo Domingo (Haiti) – it is how sugar cane came to the New World (Galloway 144). In just 30 years after its appearance in the Caribbean, they became so widespread that the West Indies started to be called the sugar islands. The role of sugar proliferated with increasing demand for it in the countries of Northern Europe, especially after the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453 (Macinnis 38). The importance of the Eastern Mediterranean territories as source of sugar supplies declined.
With the spread of sugar cane in the West Indies and the penetration of its culture into South America, more and more workers were required to grow and refine it. The natives who survived the invasion of the first conquerors proved to be not suitable for such work, and the planters solved the problem by bringing slaves from Africa (Macinnis 41). In the end, sugar production turned out to be inextricably linked with slavery and the riots that spawned the West Indies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
In the beginning, sugar cane presses were powered by oxen or horses. Later, in places blown by the trade winds, more efficient wind turbines started to be used (Macinnis 62). However, the production process, as a whole, was still quite primitive. After pressing raw cane, the resulting juice was cleaned using lime, clay or ash, and then was boiled in copper or iron tanks heated from beneath (Macinnis 86). Refining was comprised of dissolving the crystals, boiling the mixture, and subsequent re-crystallization (Macinnis 86). By the middle of the seventeenth century, Santo Domingo and Brazil had become the leading sugar producers in the world (Galloway 113).
In the United States, sugar cane first appeared in Louisiana in 1791, to where it was imported by the Jesuits from Santo Domingo (Galloway 114). At first, Americans cultivated sugar cane mainly to chew on sweet stems. However, 40 years later, two ambitious colonists, Antonio Mendez and Étienne de Boré, created their plantations on the site of the current New Orleans with the goal of producing refined sugar (Heitmann 9). After de Boré’s success, other landowners followed the example, and sugar cane started to be cultivated throughout Louisiana (Heitmann 10).
Conclusion
Sugar cane is a driver of innovation and international trade in the context of world history. The rise of slavery is partly due to sugar cane – plantation owners saw a benefit in using slaves to grow sugar cane. It has been sold and grown on many continents until it became a product of frequent use. Today, sugar can be found in every household across the planet. Since the eighteenth century, the main events in the history of sugar cane were related with the technology improvements of its cultivation, mechanical processing, and refinery.
Works Cited
Galloway, Jock. The Sugar Cane Industry 600-1950: An Historical Geography from its Origins to 1914. Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Heitmann, John. “The Modernization of the Louisiana Sugar Industry, 1830-1910.” eCommons, 1987, pp. 8-24.
Macinnis, Peter. Bittersweet: The Story of Sugar. Allen & Unwin, 2002.
This paper examines the rationale for withdrawing products with high sugar content from retail shops. Several academic and non-academic articles have been used to argue for this case. It has been identified that sugary products have critical health effects. Due to excessive sugar intake, diseases such as obesity and cardiovascular complication come up. It is thus recommended that businessmen should strive to ensure a healthy society by committing themselves to not selling sugary products.
Local Pharmacy in Bedeck
In an article that appeared on CBC News dated 12 September 2014, it was reported that a pharmacist in Beddeck, Canada, had withdrawn all sugary products off his stock (CBC News, 2014). He did this to show his commitment and determination to the fight against sugar. The pharmacist, identified as Graham McKenzie, had removed products such as pop, juice, diet pop, and vitamin water, from his inventory (CBC News, 2014). When interviewed, Graham stated that he was concerned since Canadians were taking at least ten teaspoons of sugar in these drinks, and this was not healthy for them. Graham also encouraged other pharmacists to promote such a business model. Heart and Stroke Foundation supported this stance in which it indicated that the level of sugar currently being taken ought to be cut. The article reveals that 20% of the calories consumed by Canadian nationals come from sugar (CBC News, 2014). Based on the context of the CBC News post, this paper argues that the sale of sugary products in the marketplace should be cut.
As the Heart and Stroke Foundation states, consuming excess sugar is dangerous to a person’s health (CBC News, 2014). This claim has been confirmed by the findings of a set of research studies in which it has been revealed that consuming too much sugar can potentially lead to coronary heart disease. Indeed, a single molecule of an element called Glucose Metabolite Phosphate, which is commonly found in sugars, it can lead to abnormal or weakened functionality of the heart. As more sugar is consumed, regardless of the source, the GGP molecules accumulate. As a result, the heart becomes stressed such that it cannot perform its function appropriately. It weakens, and if the condition is left unattended, death could occur (Johnson, 2007).
Besides, excess sugar intake can result in resistance against insulin by cells. Insulin is a very essential hormone given its role in controlling the use of energy and metabolism in the human body. Sugary food substances contribute to an increasing level of glucose in the body. According to Johnson (2007), excess glucose is toxic. Therefore, in an attempt to restore the glucose level to normal, the pancreas produces insulin, which acts by removing the excess glucose from the blood stream into the peripheral body cells. However, at some point, the cells become resistant. Shils and Shike (2006) revealed that where these cells resist the effects of the hormone, type 2 diabetes starts developing, since the body will be having more insulin than needed. Excess sugar has also been associated with a set of other diseases that relate to obesity. Being obese, usually, increases the risk of developing other critical medical complications such as respiratory issues, high blood pressure, and infertility.
Therefore, the need to improve the health of Canada is urgent and should be addressed using appropriate measures. As it has been identified in the CBC News article, the basic measure is to withdraw sugary products from the shop’s shelves. Given such a course, people will be forced to seek other healthier alternatives to the products, thus contributing towards a healthy Canadian society.
Johnson, R. J. (2007). Potential role of sugar (fructose) in the epidemic of hypertension, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease1,2,3. Am J Clin Nutr., 86(4), 899-906.
Shils, M. E., & Shike, M. (2006). Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. Belmont, CA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.