July 21, 2020
“Cattle producers who want mandatory Country of Origin Labeling aren’t the only ones who have a beef with food labels.
Sugarbeet growers have their own fight. They want the Food and Drug Administration to level the playing field among sweeteners.
The Sugar Association — which represents sugarbeet and sugar cane growers, processors and refiners — has petitioned the FDA to require food makers to add the word “sweetener” after the chemical name of non-nutritive sweeteners on food ingredient lists.
On the surface, sugar’s complaint with food labels doesn’t sound as dramatic or controversial as cattle producers’ trouble with Country of Origin Labeling and the “Made in the USA” labels that some countries are putting on imported beef. If you’re a sugarbeet grower, though, it’s a hot topic.
Sugar has gotten beaten up in recent years by claims that too much added sugar in food and beverages is bad for you. Some foods such as ice cream, Jell-O and pudding have the words “no sugar added” splashed across the front of their packages to catch the attention of health-conscious shoppers. But in tiny print on the ingredient list on the back of the package, you’ll often find aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame potassium, neotame, sucralose and steviol glycosides listed. All are non-nutritive sweeteners.
Although FDA says non-nutritive sweeteners are safe, there are some problems with the products, according to Harvard Health, a publication of Harvard Medical School.”
Read the full article at: https://www.farmprogress.com/commentary/sweet-nothings-sugar-industry-fights-misleading-labels
March 22, 2026
"The Feeding the Economy report affirms the vital role food and agriculture play in our nation’s economic resilience and food security. Commercial bakers have long been proud partners to American agriculture, sourcing 85 percent of their core ingredients from domestic farmers....Sponsoring organizations from the food and agriculture industries, who helped make the 2026 study possible, provided commentary on this year’s findings. The full list of sponsoring organizations includes: ...The Sugar Association"
March 10, 2026
"Courtney Gaine, president and CEO of the Sugar Association, a scientific body that supports the U.S. sugar industry, told the USDA Outlook Forum that the school meal standards taking effect next year might prohibit added sugars in kindergarten meals and could significantly restrict them in other grades. That change alone would cut sugar demand by over 130,000 short tons. The industry faces additional pressure from rising GLP-1 weight-loss drug usage, which jumped from 12% in May 2024 to 18% in November 2025, though Gaine cautioned it remains "premature to assess the impact."
March 3, 2026
"Gaine added, "There is no data to support all this." She said the focus on added sugar is often politically motivated, but food groups have not pushed back on the MAHA pressure. There is a lot of fear of retaliation, and for good reason they have not wanted to push back publicly," Gaine said. "I think it’s going to demand a coordinated, really coordinated, pushing back. Any effort up (until) now has been to go along to get along, and I don’t know if that’s going to work."
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