Sugar the World Over 15
Unfortunately, there is still an enormous surplus of beet sugar in Europe. This annual surplus has been estimated to be approximately 3 million tonnes. This is equivalent to approximately an extra 13 kg (30 lb) a year, for every man, woman and child in the EC. This 'sugar mountain' is not going to go away by itself. If the total consumption of sugar remains static, or falls slightly, in Europe, the obvious solution is to export surplus sugar to hungry Third World countries. This presents a moral dilemma. Sugar is certainly a cheap and sterile food, but it is devoid of all known essential nutrients. Getting the balance right for sucrose consumption in the Third World countries will require the judgement of Solomon to counterbalance the marketing expertise of Coca-Cola and other sweet food and drink manufacturers. The prospect is that European countries, who were net importers of cane sugar from the developing Third World countries 100 years ago, will become massive exporters of beet sugar to the developing Third World countries in Africa and Asia. Hopefully, our nutritional experts will also export all we have learned about the relationship between sucrose and ill-health, especially dental decay. Only in this way will these countries be prevented from making the mistakes that we have made in Europe, the United States and other industrialized communities.