President Donald Trump says Coca-Cola plans to start using real cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup in its main soft drink sold in the United States. Trump shared the news on his social media account, saying the change came after his suggestion. However, Coca-Cola has not officially confirmed this switch.
If true, this would make American Coca-Cola more like versions sold in other countries, such as Mexico and Australia, where cane sugar is more common. For now, the change would not affect Diet Coke, which uses a different sweetener called aspartame. That’s the drink Trump is known to prefer, so much that he had a button on his Oval Office desk to order one instantly.
A Coca-Cola spokesperson thanked Trump for his support and said more information would come soon, but the company didn’t say if cane sugar will actually replace corn syrup.
Since 2005, Coca-Cola has imported some bottles of Mexican Coke, which already use cane sugar, for fans in the U.S. But changing all U.S. production could impact American corn farmers, whose crops are used to make high-fructose corn syrup.
John Bode, president of the Corn Refiners Association, disagrees with the idea. He warned that switching sweeteners could hurt American jobs, lower farm income, and increase sugar imports.
