It was recently announced by Coca-Cola that it would start using real sugar in its drinks. High-fructose corn syrup has been used in Coke in the United States since the 1980s when sugar was abandoned.
The MAHA movement is celebrating this because real cane sugar is believed to be far less harmful than high-fructose corn syrup. And, of course, Trump is taking credit for this change.
It is a bit odd coming from Trump who likes to drink Diet Coke. The artificial sweetener is probably even more harmful than what is found in regular Coke.
Still, it is a mild win in the health movement because it means Coke might be less unhealthy now. But even more, it shows that there are more people aware of what is being put in their food and drinks.
While Trump, the individual, can chalk this up as a win, we would be remiss to point out that this is a government created problem in the first place.
Subsidies and Taxes
While the tariff man celebrates his victory, maybe someone should tell him that the U.S. government has caused this unhealthy practice of using high-fructose corn syrup in lieu of cane sugar.
First, the U.S. government subsidizes the corn industry.
Second, the U.S. government has protectionist tariffs on sugar imports from other countries.
This makes it cheaper to use corn syrup and more expensive to use sugar. This is a major reason that so many companies use the less healthy high-fructose corn syrup instead of real sugar.
Instead of talking to Coca-Cola about using real sugar, maybe Trump should have cut the sugar tariffs to zero. Instead, he has been too busy hiking tariffs all over the place, which will just cause more distortions in the marketplace.
These are the subtle, yet real, consequences of government interference in the marketplace, including with tariffs. Tariffs are taxes. When you tax something, it gives you distortions.
Who Gets the Credit?
While Trump takes credit for this switch to real sugar, we have to consider the cause and effect here.
Did Coca-Cola switch back to real sugar because of Trump? Perhaps that is part of it because they don’t want to be on the bad side of Uncle Sam, just like you don’t want to be on the bad side of the Mafia.
Aside from this, companies need to make a profit by pleasing their customers. The reason we have a MAHA movement isn’t just because of RFK Jr. It is because there are many millions of Americans who have become more aware of health and medicine, which includes what we consume.
This move by Coca-Cola is a move to satisfy consumer demand. Sure, many in the MAHA movement will never drink Coke or soda in general because there are healthier things to drink. But there are also many who want to enjoy the occasional soda without feeling like they are poisoning their body.
Excess sugar is not good either, but it generally isn’t really bad for most people in moderate amounts.
The good news isn’t that Trump got Coca-Cola to start using real sugar again. The good news is that companies will feel compelled to start responding to the growing number of Americans who are aware of what they are consuming.