Sugar: Nine reasons why our sweet tooth is harming the planet - as well as ourselves

Despite the obvious harm processed sugar is doing to our bodies, import into the UK has more than tripled in the last few years. This is on top of the millions of tonnes of sugar we already produce from sugar beet in order to satisfy our vast demand.

Globally, annual consumption of sugar has rocketed to 178 million metric tonnes in 2024, and is projected to increase to 188 million metric tonnes by 2025. It's a sad fact that in some countries over 25% of agricultural land is now allocated to a crop we don't actually need in our diets.

This unquenchable desire for processed sugar requires a massive global industrial effort from farmers, producers and distributors. This article highlights how this industry contributes to deforestation, water shortage, CO2 emission, and global warming which will ultimately damage the planet.

In our guts, processed sugar effects our own internal ecosystem by promoting the growth of pro-inflammatory 'bad' bacteria which increases the risks of chronic disease which will ultimately damage us. Overwhelming scientific evidence has firmly established that people who eat a lot of processed sugar have higher risks of obesity, chronic inflammation, raised cholesterol, diabetes and hypertension which leads to premature ageing and early death from the biggest killers of mankind including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, dementia and stroke.

The negative environmental impact on the planet is multifactorial but, in a nutshell, can be summarised into the following categories:

Land shortage:

A staggering 65 million acres of land worldwide is designated to sugar production, in over 100 countries. This competes with land that could be used for grains and root vegetables which are good for us, and help feed communities across the world. Even in the UK we could free around 40,000 hectares of land, enough to grow an additional six million tonnes of peas, potatoes, cabbage or carrots instead.

Deforestation:

In the frenzy to generate more agricultural land, sugarcane farming has fuelled deforestation in some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems—including Brazil’s Atlantic Forest which has reduced to just seven per cent of its original size. In 2022, Brazil created an extra 3.27 million hectares of agricultural land with its native rainforests mostly making way. If that is not bad enough, growers will need to cultivate 50% more land by 2050 to meet projected global sugarcane demand unless we act together to stop it.

Soil erosion:

According to Action on Sugar, cane and beet farming is causing irreversible damage to the land in which it is grown. It is estimated that in Britain alone it is responsible for 600,000 tonnes of topsoil to be lost every year. In mild climates it takes about 200 to 400 years to form 1cm of soil, and it can take thousands of years for soil to recover.

Biodiversity:

Thanks partially to that donut we just ate, where once lush forest provided a home for thousands of different pants, insects and animals, sterile rows of sugar cane suck up vital nutrients from the soil waiting to be burnt and harvested. What is even more worrying, farmers are being pressurised into using into less productive areas called marginal agricultural lands. These are even more important because they have higher biodiversity and a richer ecosystem. Sugar cane does not grow as well in marginal land without even more water and pesticides.

Water shortage:

The production of sugar is a highly water intensive operation, especially from sugar cane which has deep roots that remains in the soil all year long. According to World Wildlife, each 1kg of cane sugar uses over a litre of water. That’s almost nine gallons per teaspoon.

Despite being one of the world’s thirstiest crops, sugar cane and sugar beet are grown for cash in many countries including India, Thailand, China, Mexico, Russia, Pakistan and Australia were water is scarce.

Chemical and waste pollution:

To maintain high output, the cultivation of sugar requires pesticides and fertilizers. Runoff from these chemicals together with silt, organic matter and sludge from mills can contaminate fresh and salt water ecosystems, harming aquatic life, damaging precious mangroves and contributing to the development of dead zones. There is evidence that in the Great Barrier and Mesoamerican coral reefs, contaminants which have flowed into the sea are hurting the already vulnerable oxygen producing flora and fauna.

In parts of Africa, studies have shown that poorly managed wastewater creates more opportunities for parasites to reproduce, increasing the incidence of malaria and other insect-borne infections among workers and families in local communities.

Greenhouse gases and smoke emission:

As well as losing CO2 absorbing and oxygen producing plants from deforestation, the manufacture of sugar leads to about 0.8kg of CO2 emissions for every 1kg of sugar produced. Additionally, energy-intensive processes in sugar refineries contribute to carbon emissions as does the use of fossil fuels in transportation of sugar over long distances.

What's more, it is common practice to burn residues from sugar cane crops, which spews in a further 44% of CO2 into the atmosphere along with soot, ash and other solid substances released in the smoke. Although more expensive, some farms seeking a sustainable farming certification have changed to much more environmentally sound harvesting system.

Social and economic impacts:

Large-scale sugar production, especially in monoculture plantations, can cause displacement of local communities, exploitation of labour, and disruption of traditional livelihoods. On the other hand, Fairtrade sugarcane co-operatives of smallholder farmers in Mauritius, Belize, Eswatini and India have shown that a holistic approach to sugar production at farm and factory level can help negate the balance of carbon emissions, especially if renewable energy is used to replace that generated from fossil fuels.

Setting a realistic target

Although we do actually need any processed sugar in our diets, no sensible organisation is suggesting we need to completely eliminate processed sugar from our diets. Many of us enjoy a dessert after lunch or dinner and this adds the quality of our lives. According to the British Nutrition Foundation many of the health risks could be mitigated if we each eat less than 20g a day inside of the 60g we currently devour on average in the UK. Cutting consumption to a third will also have considerable environmental benefits especially if this allows us to restrict sugar import from Fairtrade or sustainable farming certified crops.

See also: How we can cut down our sugar intake both individually and as a society

Thanks to: George Tijbosch from MiQ and Katerina Jarosova for helping with this article.