Abstract
Sugar by Ben Richardson introduces readers to the political economic history of sugar. Richardson’s book will be suitable for use in undergraduate courses covering globalization, sociology of food, or economic sociology. Richardson points out different problems related to the production and distribution of sugar. It is hard to escape sugar in society, because whether you are a consumer or a producer, sugar has left a big footprint on society. The language and writing style is accessible to a wide readership, with each chapter ending with a brief summary of the points the author discussed.
Each chapter in this book arguably could have been its own book. Instead, Richardson does an admirable job summarizing key points to be made about sugar’s history and production. He gives an overview of sugar’s problematic history by discussing the political economics involved with industrial agriculture, labor exploitation, and environmental degradation. Each of those themes is used to highlight Richardson’s critique of capitalism throughout the book. Capitalism is presented as a driver of social inequality and environmental degradation due to its pursuit of ever increasing profits.
Chapters 2 and 3 specifically focus on markets and trade. In Chapter 2, consumption is discussed as a health problem, drawing upon the work of Marion Nestle to help interrogate the politics around sugar. For example, in the United States, various food and sugar companies have worked together to change the wording of the dietary guidelines from ‘choose food that limits your intake of sugars’ to ‘choose food and beverages to moderate your intake of sugars’ (p. 51). Companies used financial contributions to politicians, contributions to political parties, as well as personal contacts in key state agencies to get various government concessions in the United States.
The politics involved with industrial agriculture markets, as well as trade, are covered in a broad overview of the global trade of sugar in Chapter 3. Richardson argues that as another example of capitalism, the financial benefits associated with the global trade of sugar have not accumulated in the countries that actually produce the sugar.
The discussion about the production of sugar not benefiting the country that grows the sugar leads into Chapter 4, which delves into the exploitation of labor. Richardson discusses sugar plantations, child labor, and indebted labor. An interesting point made about child labor is the Philippines example. In the Philippines, many of the children used money from sugarcane to pay school fees either for themselves or a sibling, meaning ‘that efforts to eradicate child labor might have the unintended effect of forcing some children out of formal education’ (p. 110). Richardson cannot cover all the points about sugar, but he does bring in some memorable examples to help illustrate the issues associated with sugar production and consumption.
Chapter 5 covers environmental degradation. This is a broad discussion of the harmful practices of industrial agriculture such as chemicals, water depletion, and overuse of land. There has been a big push toward industrial agriculture, which includes a switch from traditional agriculture to mechanization, genetic technology, and chemical technology. This switch to industrial agriculture, however, has not correlated with a dramatic increase in sugarcane yield. The use of chemicals and mechanization has surprisingly not produced a huge increase in sugar production. Chapter 5 also involves a brief discussion of green commodities, such as using sugarcane to make the biofuel ethanol. This use of sugarcane for biofuel, however, is controversial because the environmental benefits are questionable. And Richardson writes that the economic benefits of green commodities for biofuel tend to shift from rural farming toward industrial capitalists. Another ‘green’ use for sugarcane is that the leftover sugarcane biomass can be burned in generators for electricity.
Chapter 6 ends the book with a discussion of social activism, which seeks to make sugar production and distribution more environmentally friendly and socially just. Richardson notes there are millions of people who go hungry because they cannot earn a living wage as workers or farmers in the sugar industry. This links back to the central theme in the book, which is a critique of capitalism. Industrial agriculture has exploited people, and nature, to funnel sugar profits into the hands of a limited number of capitalists. This leaves the millions who work in the sugar industry poor and hungry.
The last section of the book includes 27 pages of notes and suggested readings, along with an index. The first suggested reading (p. 225) is Raj Patel’s Stuffed and Starved: Markets, Power and the Hidden Battle for the World Food System. The book’s introduction begins with ‘the world population is simultaneously stuffed and starved’ (p. 1), a nod to Patel’s work. In several places, Richardson’s book felt like a smaller version of Patel’s book. The difference being that Richardson’s book has a historical focus on sugar, whereas Patel’s book has a food justice focus on the world food system.
Richardson’s writing appears to assume the reader is a US citizen who is being introduced to the globalized sugar industry for the first time. Even with this slant toward ‘Americans,’ there is enough detail provided to make the book understandable for people from other countries.
Chapters about labor, as well as land, have a strong focus on capitalism. However, although race is mentioned throughout the book, the chapter on labor might have benefitted from a stronger race-focused analysis. Perhaps even a stronger colonization focus as it pertains to race.
Overall, Richardson provides readers with a thorough introduction to the political economy of the sugar industry. There are snippets of examples to give readers something to hold onto while trying to engage with the history of sugar. The breadth of terrain the book attempts to cover at times limits the ability of the reader to feel anything at the microlevel. How do sugar farmers feel about their painfully low wages? How do the Philippines children feel about being child laborers? These questions are not addressed. Where the book succeeds is priming the reader with a snapshot of the history of sugar, and giving the reader a solid introduction into the problems of industrial agriculture, written in a language accessible to a wide audience.