Sugar Documentary: Unveiling the Confusion in the Sugar Industry Since in ‘Sugar Coated’

In the documentary Sugar Coated it is revealed that the sugar industry has successfully confused the general constituency since 1970. For about 40 years the colossus that is the sugar industry ran a PR campaign similar to its predecessor, the tobacco industry. "sugar can be the willpower you need to under eat, "sugar is nature's essential element," and "sugar just might be the willpower you need to curb your appetite" are some of the fallacious mantras of sugar giants (Eboch, 44).

The documentary also touched upon how Harvard scientists were paid by the sugar industry to muddy the efforts of other researchers who truthfully pointed out the fact that sugar can lead to diabetes, fatty liver disease, and other long term detriments to one's health. An unusual decline in the longevity of Okinawa's people was also observed. One of the most captivating parts of the documentary were the segments which demonstrated the increase in sugar consumption over time.

Historically, for example, the people of Okinawa have lived longer than any of Japan's other people groups. The traditional diet of these islanders contains 30 percent of green and yellow vegetables, the purple Okinawan sweet potato, they eat smaller quantities of rice, and a smaller amount of fish. So in essence, they eat far less sugar and grains than the majority of the Japanese.

Order custom essay Sugar Documentary: Unveiling the Confusion in the Sugar Industry Since in ‘Sugar Coated’ with free plagiarism report

450+ experts on 30 subjects Starting from 3 hours delivery

Get Essay Help

As a result, these people have a low mortality rate from cardiovascular disease and certain cancers; it was not uncommon before the introduction of sugary foods to find an Okinawan approaching their late 90s (Huffington Post, 1). However, Okinawa was not immune to new dietary trends at the end of the century. Since then, dietary practices have shifted to those of the west-fat intake has nearly quintupled, resulting in the Okinawan life expectancy diving below the Japanese average- a phenomenon once deemed impossible: "Okinawa women who were born in 2010 are expected to live to be 87.02 years old when they die.

Men's life expectancy also went down to 79.4 years (Japan Update, 1)." Based on recent lifestyle changes influenced by western cultures, the article concludes, Okinawa has succumbed to the sugar craze. No matter how healthy and remote a given civilization is, the giants of the sugar industry still have a far reaching effect― after all they did change dietary trends of Okinawa over hundred years in the making. This message especially resonated with me during the course of the documentary. Furthermore, the research of Dentist turned postdoctoral scholar, Cristin Kearns, was alluring.

Kearns one day, by chance, stumbled upon the playbook of the sugar industry left behind at the Great Western Sugar Company. It summarized the deceptive tactics and actions taken by it during the mid 60s when sugar was getting negative attention: "After a 1965 spike in media attention to the heart disease risks of the sugar industry commissioned Project 226, a literature review written by researchers at the Harvard University School of Public Health Nutrition Department, which was published in the highly respected New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 1967.

It concluded there was "no doubt" that the only dietary intervention required to prevent coronary heart disease was to reduce dietary cholesterol and substitute polyunsaturated fat for saturated fat in the American diet (Fernandez, 1)." Based that literary review, Kearns maintained rightfully that this high specialized public relations stunt lead to the misconception that sugar is healthy. I was shocked that the blame was pointed at saturated fats instead.

What was even more shocking was that prestigious and and trusted institute which has existed for 381 years, Harvard, accepted millions of dollars from the sugar industry to falsify the health benefits of sugar. As things currently stand, there is still progress to be made in the United States with sugar legislation. The Nutrition and Labeling Act of 1990 requires food products to label the nutritional content (Waxman, 1). This was a step in the right direction by the FDA, because consumers are now more accountable for how much sugar they consume.

Another important thing that the documentary pointed out is that there are many naturally occurring sugars in the fruits we eat, so we must eat those cautiously as well. In essence, sugar in moderation is a treat, but in excessive amounts, as alluded by the documentary, it is a poison. Given the sugar craze in the United States, a great degree of responsibility when it comes to reading labels is required. The nutrition and labeling act is an example of one of the facets that the general population should take advantage of.

The food industry, although it has a moral obligation to stop, will not stop packing food full of saturated fats and sugar anytime soon since it is profitable and there are no government regulations regarding this practice. It is unfortunate because they should be focused on being transparent and quit producing sugary products for the public, but corporate interest and the industry's unlimited supply of lobbyists will prevent this from happening anytime soon.

In summary, the industry knows better, but the guarantee of increased profit from selling sugary products and corporate interests subverts its integrity. The abrupt increase in the waistline of Okinawans and the secret practices of the Sugar industry along with its affiliates proved shed light on what was previously unknown to me. The sugar industry has successfully increased its profits and the general constituency's chances of getting cardiovascular disease very discreetly; what the sugar industry has accomplished would have even the late tobacco industry stunned.

Sugar Coated shows that even today, sugar is all consuming in other aspects of our lives: holiday treats, fast food, our everyday food stores, and even foods that don't require them, like bread. It will take a joint global effort by the many world powers to stand up to the sugar industry, as suggested by the documentary, and I agree with that notion.

Works Cited

1. Eboch, M. M. Inside the Sugar Industry. Minneapolis, MN: Essential Library, an Imprint of Abdo, 2017. Print.
2. Fernandez, Elizabeth. "Sugar Papers Reveal Industry Role in Shifting National Heart Disease Focus to Saturated Fat." UC San Francisco. N.p., 12 Sept. 2016. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.
3. "Okinawa Women Lose No. 1 Spot in Life Expectancy." Japan Update. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2017. "Sugar Coated Documentary."
4. Sugar Coated Documentary. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2017. ., Henry. "H.R.3562 - 101st Congress (1989-1990): Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990." Congress.gov. N.p., 08 Nov. 1990. Web. 10 Apr. 2017.

Don't let plagiarism ruin your grade

Run a free check or have your essay done for you

Check my essay Hire Writer