President Trump claims Coca-Cola has agreed to change its recipe, and the corn industry is giving him an earful. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he has been speaking to Coca-Cola about “using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so.”
It would replace high-fructose corn syrup.
“Replacing HFCS with cane sugar would be a devastating blow to thousands of manufacturing jobs in American agriculture,” says John Bode, President and CEO of the Corn Refiners Association. “It would depress farm prices, and it would add to our trade deficit because every bit of HFCS that is replaced with cane sugar would be imported cane sugar.”
Bode cites a study from North Dakota State University that explains what the economic impact would be on the U.S. corn industry.
“The immediate impact on corn prices, nationally, would be 15-to-34 cents per bushel, a devastating blow to American agriculture. And, once again, this tweet was talking about cane sugar, so there’s not any consolation for the beet growers.”
A “MAHA Commission” report in May argued that high-fructose corn syrup is a factor in obesity and related diseases. But scientists say there is little nutritional difference between sugar and high-fructose corn syrup.
Coca-Cola did respond, stopping short of confirming their plans. Their website reads, “We appreciate President Trump’s enthusiasm for our iconic Coca‑Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca‑Cola product range will be shared soon.”
Source: NAFB News Service
