Is sugar and the Coronavirus related? Well, they are and I will show you how in this blog.
First a little history. Sugar cane was first brought to Jamestown in 1619 so that British settlers could make sugar and get rich by selling it back in England. The rich land owners who got their land from the Queen of England were able to get special protection passed in 1670 that prevented competition. Most of the slaves that were imported into the English colonies were for growing sugar cane and making sugar, not to pick cotton. Even after the revolution from England, the new USA government was quick to pass more protection for the sugar industry in 1789. Since then the regulations and protection have only gotten stronger. It is estimated that today we pay over $4 billion above the world sugar price for our sugar. This $4 billion ends up in the pockets of the sugar cane and beet farmers as well as the sugar industry. You don't see this in your taxes, because it is done behind the curtain in the form of a restriction on imports to protect the most powerful farm lobby in the USA!
Now, what does this have to do with the coronavirus? A lot!. While our elected government has been protecting the sugar farmers, they seem to have turned their backs of the rest of us. They let the greedy companies here in the USA import most of our critical medicines from other countries while protecting a very few rich sugar farmers. I don't think that most of you knew that! Now that you do, what do you think we need to do about it? The sugar industry has gotten special protection since 1670 thru today. That is 350 years right under our noses.
The price for sugar here in the USA is about 3 times what it cost on the world market and we still protect our sugar industry. What if we had only a fraction of this same protection for our pharmacy industry? Very good question. Would you trade a few rich farmers for a good supply of medicine here in the USA? You bet! When you have a few facts, isn't it interesting how your attitude changes about things.
PS--I read that about 50% of those who have died from the coronavirus in Louisiana were suffering from diabetes. Further, did you know that the average American consumes 77.1# of sugar per year. Sugar seems to be in almost everything we eat. It has not always been this way. It is clearly not good for our health!.
