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Evaluating Mintz's Sweetness and Power Why would anyone feel the need to write an entire book on such a mundane topic such as sugar? Look around at some food products you might have and you will realize that many if not all of them contain sugar in some form or another. For example, a can of soda, which most people drink everyday, contains (depending on the brand) approximately 40 grams of sugars. Look further and you might find that even things such as cheese or chips or soup contain several grams of sugar in them. The wide diversification of products that contain sugar just goes to show you how widespread the use of sugar really is. This fact alone could be enough to convince someone to create a book solely about sugar. One passage that Mintz quotes on page 15 that really seems to capture our (Westerners) infatuation with sugar, and a strong reason the book at hand is as follows: Western peoples consume enormous per capita quantities of refined sugar because, to most people, very sweet foods taste very good. The existence of the human sweet tooth can be explained, ultimately, as an adaptation of ancestral populations to favor the ripest-and hence the sweetest-fruit. In other words, the selective pressures of times past are most strikingly revealed by the artificial, supernormal stimulus of refined sugar, despite the evidence that eating refined sugar is maladaptive. With such an obsession with sweet foods, there is an obvious desire for an explanation of how such a once unknown substance took center stage on everybody's snack, dessert, and candy list. That's where Sidney W. Mintz comes into play. He decided to write this book Sweetness and Power, and from the looks of all the sources he used to substantiate his ideas and data, it seems that he is not the first person to find the role that sugar plays in modern society important. By analyzing who Mintz's audience is meant to be, what goals he has in writing this book, what structure his book incorporates, what type, or types, of history he represents within the book, what kind of sources he uses, and what important information and conclusions he presents, we can come to better understand Mintz's views and research of the role of sugar in history, and how much it really affects our lives as we know them. To begin to understand and evaluate Mintz's Sweetness and Power, one must first understand who his book is aimed toward, in other words, his audience.
Kit-kats, Hershey bars, Skittles, and Jolly Ranchers. The reason these sweets, and many other products, are so popular is because of their sugar content. It’s hard to imagine that something used in nearly every food today was practically nonexistent at one point. But this is true- sugar wasn’t introduced globally until the 1500’s. Following this introduction, the trade that sprung up would come to be one of the most successful and profitable in the world. The Sugar Trade’s success was driven by many factors. Out of those several factors, the ones that promised success were high consumer demand, willing investors with a lot of capital, and the usage of slave labor.
However, the outcome was different from his desired result due to strong protest from the dairy and livestock industry, so the Congress instead urged people to buy lean meat and less fat food so the dairy and livestock industry do not go out of business. This created the fat-free boom in the market in the 1980s. However, food companies began to put more sugar in their products because the taste was bad when they reduced fat in the food. Now, the sugar intake of Americans has doubled compared with before. In the American market, there are approximately 600,000 different food products, and 80% of those include sugar. Although sugar is written in various forms and names, one suggests that it’s bad in any form, especially if taken too much. Sugar consumed naturally through fiber-rich fruit or vegetable should be fine, but the added sweeteners stimulate the hormones that increase insulin. High insulin prevents people from thinking they are full, and thus crave more food. This causes many diseases. Of course one meal high in sugar will not kill them, but the problem is that people generally exceed daily sugar intake in one meal alone when consuming process food. We eat more processed and convenient food instead of fruits, vegetables, and
Reynolds, Coriena . Sugar Alternatives, Not So Sweet. James Madison University. 23 Jul. 2007 .
People do not often stop to think about why the world is how it is today and when people do, they tend to think about war, victory, defeat, and even their heritage, however many of them neglect to think about daily necessities that have influenced the outcomes of many different empires. One major impact on the rise and fall of multiple domains that is often overlooked is food, and in particular, sugar. Sugar has affected economies, the way of life, and industry all over the world. Sidney Mintz, author of Sweetness and Power, stops to discuss how sugar has been a basic building block that has developed and transformed Europe and America and how the world has changed the production and consumption of sugar from a luxury into a staple of our diet by ultimately altering eating habits and work patterns in modern times.
The spread of sugar was very important in the world. The uses of sugar was passed around by different cultures and nations. This made sugar very needed throughout the world. At one point, it became almost impossible to purchase this commodity. It brought preservation of fruit, sweetening of bitter foods, and was a source of quick calories for the underprivileged workers. It brought independence to nations and built great economies. Sugar grew the business of slave trade and expanded the production of such an important crop. Without the sugar commodity, world history would not be anywhere to where it is
Since nearly the invention of commercially sweetened foods and advertising that celebrates their goodness, sugary foods and drinks have been identified as the cause of several chronic diseases, contributing to poor health. When a person’s diet contains a lot of sugar, especially when it begins early in life, it is likely to cause health problems and possibly death at a young age. For these and many other reasons, it is essential to carry out research in order to establish the extent to which these foods affect people’s health. In gaining more information on this issue, the argument can be made that the government should ban sugary foods and drinks should be sold in elementary and middle schools.
	Sweetness and Power is a strong study relating the evolution of sugar to societal growth as well as to economic change. Despite the flaws contained within the structure of the book and the lack of fieldwork, the book is an excellent collection of data regarding sugar, a topic that most people do not think of as being a major factor in the lives they live today. Mintz forces the "educated layperson" to look around the world today, and really think about what it would be like without the luxury of sugar.
Sugar is one of the most consumed commodities in the world today, and the profits of it are significant. According to Larry Schwartz (2014) “Americans consume 130 pounds of sugar every year” (Schwartz, 2014). We must be acknowledged about how it all started, to appreciate how people lived and how they struggled to provide such a commodity. Sugar was a profitable commodity in the fifteenth and sixteenth century. The cultivation of sugarcane expanded to the United States of America, which brought enslaves from Africa to work on the plantation of sugar during the 17th century. Sugar was known as the white gold for its income, which helped the U.S. to achieve independence from Great Britain. Although sugar has the worst history, it is widely used for nutritional, medical and industrial productions, and sugar manufacturing led to an industrial development and economic growth.
In document 7a, it tells when sugar got attention worldwide rich people started moving to the West Indies to grow because everyone wanted sugar and sugar makes you a lot of money. The more you consume sugar, the more you will start to
Sugar is not only a sweet substance used in coffee, cookies, and many other sweet tasting foods we love to eat and enjoy. It is truly a good that changed the world in many ways all the way back to its roots. In more than one way sugar is a useful and profitable tool, originating all the way back to the early middle middle ages. The sugar trade impacted the the Earth both socially and politically with the use of slaves brought to the Americas by the middle passage and other places. Economically, especially when prices dropped due to new technological improvements and slave abolishment all over the world. Lastly, the sugar trade impacted the world culturally, by leading
Probably some of the most pleasurable and enjoyable memories of a person has to do with sweets. When thinking back to birthdays, there is always the memory of the wonderful cake that mother beautifully made and decorated with frosting and glazes. A typical night out with dad can be transformed into a magical evening with a trip to the ice cream parlor. The end of a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner turns heavenly when a hot apple pie is brought to the table and topped with delicious, melting vanilla ice cream. A good wedding is never complete without the cutting of the splendid multi-level wedding cake, when the happy new couple gets to playfully shove and smear cake and white frosting into each other’s smiling faces. Everyone knows that as a child, the only good part about going to the dentist is getting the candy bar at the end of the visit. Why do some people get sick after eating too much suger? Some people do not even know that the abuse of sugar can lead to negative effects on your body. There is something strangely enjoyable and resplendent about the consumption of sugar. Why is it that sugar is so deliciously enjoyable and at the same time a food product that has many negative affects on people’s health?
In 1985, scholars S. Boyd Eaton and Melvin J. Konner published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled ‘Paleolithic Nutrition’ that provided insight to he evolution of human nutritional requirements. Although...
She states “that when it comes to sugar the average adult consumes 23 teaspoons a day”. She explains that the excessive sugar intake can lead to obesity and other health issues (Mansfield Sugar Surprise). This can pose as a major health concern in adults and children. In the Sugar Overload: Corporate Profits vs. Public Health, Serge Ahmed, a researcher in Southern France, states “that a child consumes an average of 100 grams per day of sugar”. He also concludes that children are at risk 60% more than the average adult and sugar has been a direct link to obesity. (Ahmed Sugar
We are all familiar with sugar. It is sweet, delicious, and addictive; yet only a few of us know that it is deadly. When it comes to sugar, it seems like most people are in the mind frame knowing that it could be bad for our health, but only a few are really taking the moderate amounts. In fact, as a whole population, each and everyone of us are still eating about 500 extra calories per day from sugar. Yes, that seems like an exaggerated number judging from the tiny sweet crystals we sprinkle on our coffee, but it is not. Sugar is not only present in the form of sweets and flavourings, it is hidden in all the processed foods we eat. We have heard about the dangers of eating too much fat or salt, but we know very little about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. There still isn’t any warnings about sugar on our food labels, nor has there been any broadcasts on the serious damages it could do to our health. It has come to my concern during my research that few
There are many natural resources and products that us people take for granted. Resources such as salt, water, sugar, and cotton are items we see and use on a daily basis. Back then, however, the availability and desire of some of these resources determines the success or crumble of certain civilizations. Throughout history, salt and sugar have shaped the development and success of some civilizations, empires, and more. If salt and sugar never existed, life today would definitely be different. Not only because of today’s uses, but because some discoveries made by some ancient civilizations may never have been found as those civilizations wouldn't flourish on those resources and then crumble. The availability and desire of salt and sugar have significantly helped the development of civilizations and cultures but it has also hindered them. Many people in these