The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1911-05-05
Sugar Consumption in the United
States,


States.
The people of the United States
consume half their own weight in
sugar every year. This may seem a
startling statement, but IL we take the
quantity Of sugar produced in the
United States and add to this the
quantity brought from our own is
lands and the quantity imported from
foreign countries, and subtract there
from the amount exported, we get q
grand total of considerably more
than z billion pounds consumed in
the country; and by dividing the pop
u1ation into this grand total, we get
an average of sly pounds per capita,
speaking in round terms, for 1910,
and about like quantity for 1909
Tt is not assumed, Of course, that each
person necessarily consumes sugar
equal to one-half his individual
weight; but taking the total consump-
ton and comparing it with the total
population in the section known as
continental United States, the aver
age yearly consumption of sugar is
found to be about 81A pounds per
capita
In fact, the people OF the United
States are larger consumers OF sugar
per capita than those of any other
country in the world except England,
for which the latest figures show a
consumption averaging Sc pounds
per capita, against our own average
OF 811s pounds per capita. The next
largest per capita consumption is in
Denmark, 775 pounds; followed by
Switzerland, 81 pounds; Sweden, 81
pounds, and Germany and Holland,
each about 431a pounds
Not only is the United States the
second largest sugar consumer per
capita, but the total amount consumed
annually Il much greater than that OF
any other country, aggregating, as
above indicated, more than billion
pounds per annum, against about 4
billion pounds in England and about
8 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 IL billion pounds year,
Of which more than one billion pounds
IL beet sugar and about three-quar-
tiers of q billion cane sugar. II is
only recently that the production 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 mas
been very rapid in recent years, and
in 1907, for the first time, exceeded ID
quantity that produced from cane and
has so continued since that time.
or the sugar brought from other
countries, nearly all is made from
cane While about one-half Of the
worlds sugar is made from beets,
most Of it is produced in Europe and
consumed in the country Of produc-
ton or in other parts of that grand
division, while most of the world out
side of Europe obtains its sugar sup
ply from cane, grown Of course, in
the tropical and subtropical sections.
OF the cane sugar which we consume,
most of that coming from foreign
countries is drawn from Cuba, the
Dutch East Indies, and smaller
amounts from the West Indies, Mex
leo, Central and South America. ALI
of that coming from our own islands
Porto Rico, Hawaii, and the Philip
pines-is cane sugar, while OF the do
nestle 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 Wiscon-
sin; while most OF the cane sugar Is
produced in Louisiana, with smaller
quantities in Texas, FLORIDA, Georgia
and South Carolina.
The sugar habit" is evidently a
growing one with the people of the
United States and probably with
those of other countries, since the to-
tai world production Of sugar, includ-
ing all countries for which statistics
are available, has increased 80 per
cent i'm the last decade and about
doubled in Is years. In our own case
the consumption has shown rapid
growth, the per capita consumption
having been, in 1880, 40 pounds; in
1890, 81 pounds; in 1900, 80 pounds;
and in 1910, approximately S11s
pounds.
What is the cost Of the enormous
quantity OF sugar consumed in the
United States This il more diff
cult to answer The valuation of
that brought from foreign countries
and our islands is set down at about
It's million dollars; though this COM
paratively high figure when consider
ed by the price per pound, is due to
the fact that the valuation Is based
upon the refined article, while that OF
the sugar from abroad il the value of
the unrefined article in the country
of production. If, however we &C.
cept a general average Of SC per
pound as the retail price paid by our
people for the 2 1-3 billion pounds Of
sugar consumed by them in 1910, we
should get a total of 1856, 100000, or
an average Of approximately $1,000
900 a day paid for sugar by the peo-
ule or the United States.