Americans Want Domestically Produced Food
With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I’m Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.
A new survey from the American Sugar Alliance shows American voters recognize the importance of agriculture. The poll says they want Congress to prioritize American farmers in the next farm bill, provide them with a strong and reliable safety net, and protect them from foreign businesses that could displace American farmers and workers and disrupt our national food supply.
Almost two-thirds of the respondents in the survey say the nation’s food supply should be less dependent on foreign suppliers. The results cut across political parties and geographical regions. As far as where America should buy its sugar from, eight times as many voters preferred American-made sugar compared to those who preferred imported sugar.
There are approximately 11,000 family farmers raise sugar beets and sugarcane.
2022 marked the first year ever in which Louisiana was the top sugarcane producing state, a title commonly held by the Sunshine State. In 2021, Florida produced 17.3 million tons of sugar, making it the highest-producing state for the year and accountable for over half of sugar production in the United States.
