The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1911-02-02
SUGAR CONSUMPTION IN THE
u. S.

The people of the Unitde States on
sumo half their own weight in sugar
every year. This may seem a startling
statement, but if We take the quantity
OF sugar produced in the United States
and add to this the quantity brought
from u own islands and the quantity
imported from foreign countries, and
substract thcrefrom the mount ex-
ported, we get a grand total of consid-
craly more than seven billion pounds
consumed in the country; and by di-
yiding the population into this grand
total, wet get an average Of S2B
pounds per capita, speaking in round
terms, for 1910, and about a like guam
tity for 1909. 1t is not assumed, Of
course, that each person necessarily
consumes sugar equal to one half his
individual weight, but taking the total
consumption and comparing it with
the total population in the section
known as continental United States,
the average yearly consumption Of
sugar is found to be about S11A pounds
/ per capita.
In fact, the people of the United
States are larger consumers of sugar
per capita than those of n other
country of the world except England,
for which the latest figures show a
consumption averaging Sc pounds per
capita, against our own average Of
S112 pounds per capita. The next
largest per capita consumption is in
Denmark, 77A pounds; followed by
Switzerland, GA pounds; Sweden, "a
pounds, and Germany and Holland,
each about 1879 pounds.
Not only is the United States the
second largest sugar per
capita, but the total amount consumed
annually is much greater than that of
any other country, a~ggregating, as
above indicated, more than even bill
lion pounds per annum, against about
four billion pounds in England and
about three billion pounds in Germany.
About one-half of the sugar con-
sumed in the United States is brought
from foreign countries, about one
fourth from our own islands, and the
remaining one-fourth produced in this
country. The total production of
sugar in the United States now
amounts to one and three-fourths bill
lion pounds a year, of which one bill
lion pounds is beet sugar and about
three-quarters of a billion cane sugar.
1t is only recently hat the production
Of of beet sugar in the United States
has come to exceed that of cane sugar.
In 1900 domestic production of cane
sugar was twice as great as that of
beet sugar, and 20 years ago was more
than 60 times as great; but the growth
of beet sugar production has been very
rapid in recent years, and in 1907.
for the first time, exceeded in quantity
that produced from cane and has so
continued since that time.
OF the sugar brought from other
countries, nearly all is made from
cane. While about half of the worlds
sugar Is made from beets, most of IL
Is produced in Europe and consumed
In the country of production or in
other parts of that grand division.
while most Of the world outside of
Europe obtains it's sugar supply from
cane, grown of course, in the t~ropical
and subtropical sections. OF the cane
sugar which We consume, most OF that
coming from foreign countries Is
drawn from Cuba, the Dutch East In.
dies and smaller amounts from the
west Indies, Mexico, Central and
south America. All Of that coming
from our W islands-Porto Rico,
Hawaii and the Philippdnes-is cane
sugar. while of the domestic product
about 40 per cent is produced from
cane The beet sugar of the United
States Is grown chiefly In Colorado,
California and Michigan, and some In
Utah. Idaho and Wisconsin; while
most of the cane sugar is produced in