RFK Jr. praises cane sugar
Kennedy has repeatedly blasted high-fructose corn syrup — a staple of sugary snacks and drinks including Coke — as a driver of obesity and diabetes. And research has established that added sugar in food does fuel those chronic diseases.
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Cane sugar is also an unhealthy addition to drinks, the experts said.
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'Replacing one sugar with another isn't going to have much of an effect on health,' said Dariush Mozaffarian, director of the Food Is Medicine Institute at Tufts University, who praised other Kennedy food priorities, such as reducing consumption of ultra-processed foods.
The Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment. Some Kennedy allies defended his comments, saying they were not contradictory and instead highlighted concerns over a pesticide commonly sprayed on corn.
'Of course, Coca-Cola is not a healthy drink. Of course, it still has a ton of sugar and is nutritionally void,' said Vani Hari, an author and activist known as the Food Babe.
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But Kennedy is 'looking at the bigger picture,' Hari added. 'He understands how food is produced in this country. He understands the downstream impacts on human health.'
Many US customers are already familiar with the Mexican version of Coke made with cane sugar because it is widely imported. President Donald Trump, known for his love of Diet Coke, said last week that he had spoken to Coca-Cola about making its product in the US with cane sugar and that the company agreed. At the time, Coca-Cola did not confirm the move, but the company said in a statement that it appreciated Trump's 'enthusiasm' for its brand.
The company said the addition of a soda with cane sugar in the US 'is designed to complement the company's strong core portfolio and offer more choices across occasions and preferences.' James Quincey, Coca-Cola's chief executive, said some of its other drinks sold in the US already use cane sugar, such as teas and lemonades.
'We are definitely looking to use the whole toolbox, the whole tool kit of available sweetening options to some extent where there are consumer preferences,' Quincey said on a Tuesday earnings call.
Trump's preview of the decision revived a long-running debate over whether 'Mexican Coke' made with cane sugar tastes better. Nutrition experts bristled at the focus on the type of sugar in the drink instead of whether people should be drinking it at all.
'To actually improve health, the administration should focus on less sugar, not different sugar,' said Aviva Musicus, science director of the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates a healthy and safe food supply.
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Cane sugar, derived from a sucrose-rich plant, and high-fructose corn syrup, made by breaking down corn starch and processing it, share similar compositions with slight differences in their makeup. The Food and Drug Administration says it is not aware of evidence showing a difference in the safety of foods containing the syrup versus other sweeteners such as sucrose, also known as table sugar, and honey.
Several nutritionists said they have not seen scientific evidence showing sucrose is healthier than high-fructose corn syrup in food. They pointed to a 2022 study indicating that both have similar effects on weight, blood pressure, and body mass index.
'Biochemically and physiologically, they're the same,' said Marion Nestle, a retired professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. 'They're sugars. Everybody should be eating less of them.'
More than three-quarters of children five years and older and more than half of adults consume more than the recommended limit of added sugars, according to US data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Kennedy has long targeted high-fructose corn syrup and touted 'Mexican Coke' over the version manufactured in the U.S.
'High-fructose corn syrup. That is poison. … Clearly it is linked to the obesity epidemic. It's linked to the diabetes epidemic,' Kennedy said on a 2023 episode of 'The Breakfast Club,' a radio show.
He added, 'If you're going to drink Coca-Cola, drink a Mexican Coke because they don't have it in it.'
But public health experts have long raised alarms about soda consumption in Mexico. According to one 2019 study, nearly a fifth of all deaths of Mexican adults due to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity-related cancer were attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages. At one point, the drinks contributed to more than 40,000 excess deaths per year in Mexico.
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A May report from the Trump administration's MAHA commission - which Kennedy chairs - said high-fructose corn syrup and other added sugars 'may play a significant role in childhood obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).'
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