How Humanity Got Hooked on Sugar

It produces a burst of energy and a feeling of profound pleasure, followed by a life-long craving for more. It is cheap, widelyavailable – and children love it. Gary Taubes reports on how sugar became the world’s most popular drug

Imagine a drug that can intoxicate us, can infuse us with energy and can be taken by mouth. It doesn’t have to be injected, smoked or snorted for us to experience its sublime effects. Imagine that it mixes well with virtually every food and particularly liquids, and that when given to infants it provokes a profound feeling of pleasure. In clinical trials, it is more effective in soothing the distress of infants than the mother’s breast, and breast milk itself. Over consumption of this drug may have long-term side effects, but there are none in the short term – no staggering or dizziness, no slurring of speech, no heart palpitations or respiratory distress. More than anything, it makes children happy, at least while they’re consuming it. It calms their distress, focuses their attention and leaves them excited and full of joy until the dose wears off. The only downside is that children will come to expect another dose, perhaps to demand it, on a regular basis.

How long would it be before parents took to using our imaginary drug to calm their children when necessary, to alleviate discomfort, to prevent outbursts of unhappiness, or to distract attention? And once the drug became identified with pleasure, how long before it was used to celebrate birthdays, a football game, good grades at school? How long before no gathering of family and friends was complete without it, before major holidays and celebrations were defined in part by the use of this drug to assure pleasure? How long would it be before the underprivileged of the world would happily spend what little money they had on this drug rather than on nutritious meals for their families?