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Dietary Shifts, Weight Drugs Threaten Sugar Demand
21 Feb
Summary
- Stricter dietary guidelines may reduce domestic sugar demand.
- New school meal standards could cut sugar use by 130,000 tons.
- Weight-loss drug use is rising, impacting sugar consumption.
The U.S. sugar industry faces a confluence of challenges that could diminish domestic demand. Stricter dietary guidelines, including updated recommendations for zero added sugars and new school meal standards, are anticipated to affect consumption.
These school meal standards, implemented next year, may eliminate added sugars for kindergarteners and heavily restrict them in other grades. This change alone is projected to decrease sugar demand by over 130,000 short tons.
Furthermore, the growing popularity of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs presents another potential pressure point. While the full impact is still uncertain, this trend, alongside regulatory scrutiny over "processed foods," could lead to significant shifts in sugar consumption patterns.
