Sugar addiction is increasing. Global sugar consumption has quadrupled over the past 60 years and now accounts for approximately 8 percent of all our calories. Although sugar seems to keep us full, added sugar is actually empty calories; It lacks nutrients such as vitamins or fiber. The result is huge health costs, as sugar is linked to obesity worldwide. According to some estimates, half of the world’s population will suffer from obesity by 2035.

It is estimated that a limited 20 per cent reduction in sugar consumption could save US$10.3bn (£8.1bn) in healthcare costs in the US alone. But the impact of sugar goes far beyond health and money. Sugar cultivation is also associated with many environmental problems, such as habitat and biodiversity loss, as well as water pollution from fertilizers and factories. But overall, sugar has not received enough attention from the scientific community, even though it is the most grown crop on the planet.

In a recent article, we assessed the impact of sugar on the environment and explored ways to reduce dietary sugar content to the recommended level by reducing production or using the saved sugar in environmentally beneficial ways.

By phasing out sugar, we can save land that can be returned to wildlife and store carbon. This is especially important in biodiverse tropical regions such as Brazil and India, where sugar production is concentrated. Another, more politically acceptable option would be to divert sugar from nutrition to other environmentally beneficial uses, such as bioplastics or biofuels.

Our research shows that the biggest opportunity is using sugar to feed protein-producing microbes. Harnessing the sugar stored for this microbial protein could produce enough protein-rich plant foods to regularly feed 521 million people. And replacing it with animal protein could also have big benefits in terms of reducing emissions and saving water.

We estimate that if this protein replaced chicken it could reduce emissions by almost 250 million tonnes, and if it replaced beef we could see even greater savings (by comparison, the UK’s national fossil fuel emissions are around 300 million tonnes). This makes perfect sense, given that sugar has a much smaller impact on the climate than meat.

Another alternative is to use processed sugar to make bioplastics, which would replace about 20 percent of the total market for polyethylene, one of the most common types of plastic used to make everything from packaging to pipes. Or for biofuel production, which would allow for the production of approximately 198 million barrels of ethanol for transportation.

Brazil already produces about 85% of the world’s ethanol, and they make it from sugar, but instead of growing more sugar to make ethanol, we can remove sugar from the diet. This prediction is based on a world where we reduce sugar in the diet as much as possible (5% of daily calories). If we reduce our sugar intake even further, the benefits will be even greater.

supply chain issues

It seems like a big win-win: cutting down on sugar to reduce obesity and help the environment. But these changes pose a major challenge to the sugar supply chain, which spans more than 100 countries and millions of people who depend on sugar for income.

National policies such as sugar taxes are vital, but international coordination is also important in such an extensive supply chain. Sustainable agriculture is being discussed at the UN climate summit COP29 in Azerbaijan this week. Sustainable sugar production should become a factor in these global negotiations, given the many environmental challenges and opportunities associated with changing the way sugar is grown and consumed.

We also recommend that groups of countries establish partnerships between sugar producers and consumers; This would make it easier to redirect sugar from people’s diets to more beneficial uses. This study could be coordinated by the World Health Organization, which has called for reducing sugar consumption. Some of the funds needed to finance these efforts could even come from a portion of the funds allocated to health care in national budgets.

We cannot hope to change the way sugar is produced and consumed overnight. But by exploring other ways to use sugar, we can discover what environmental benefits we’re missing and help policymakers chart a resource-efficient path to grow the industry while improving public health.