WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 19, 2018) – In a new video released today, Massachusetts-based Melville Candy Company owner Joseph Melville joins the chorus of voices calling for the modernization of the U.S. sugar program. The third-generation candy maker explains why the outdated U.S. sugar program is harming his business and employees.

“It makes us at a disadvantage competing with anyone outside of the United States that has got a world sugar price,” says Melville, who recently won the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2018 Small Business Person of the Year Award for Massachusetts. “If we had better pricing on sugar that was fair, we could create more jobs. It would help grow our business for sure.”

Melville Candy Company employs more than 175 people in Randolph, Massachusetts, bringing vital economic support to the community. I think not only is it going to stimulate the economy [and] give us the opportunity to give more jobs, but also build our company in the United States,” notes Joe, an operations employee.

The Sugar Policy Modernization Act (H.R. 4265 / SB. 2086), introduced by a bicameral, bipartisan group of federal lawmakers late last year, would reform the outdated and outrageous program. The proposal creates an adequate supply of sugar based on a reasonable competitive approach that reaches from the farm to the retail shelf – without risking an appropriate safety net for farmers. Congress can reform the U.S. sugar program this year as part of its consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill, which sets government agriculture policy.

Melville Candy Company isn’t alone in calling on Congress to reform the U.S. sugar program. To hear what others are saying, watch the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy’s new video series.

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) is a broad-based coalition advocating to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program. Formed by a sizable group of small, family-owned businesses and manufacturers, retailers, food and beverage companies, trade associations, environmental advocates, taxpayer watchdog organizations, responsible government advocates, think tanks, and other organizations, the group’s goal is to help level the playing field for American manufacturers and their families when it comes to being able to create jobs. To learn more about the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy and the need for sugar reform, please visit FairSugarPolicy.org.

If you are interested in using any of the video(s), please contact info@FairSugarPolicy.org.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 17, 2018) – Today, the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) released a broad-based coalition letter to Congress, encouraging members to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program. Backed by American small businesses, manufacturers, food and beverage companies, think tanks, environmental advocates, and other organizations, the group believes this year’s Farm Bill provides an opportunity for Congress to address the problems associated with the 80-year-old U.S. sugar program.

“The sugar program is a complicated mess that protects a handful of very large co-ops and sugar mega-processors to the detriment of American small businesses and food manufacturers as well as the hundreds of thousands of families that rely on manufacturing jobs for their livelihoods,” the letter states. “From New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to California, Texas, and Florida, members of the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy and other organizations have raised their voices to call for modest reform that would provide relief to small businesses without hurting the farming
community.”

The sugar program is a complicated bureaucratic mess of price supports, market allocations, quotas, and government guarantees that are ultimately covered by taxpayer dollars. Moreover, the program forces manufacturers to pay twice as much for sugar as the rest of the world, putting American businesses at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to creating jobs. Click here to view a one-minute animated video that explains the issue.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, every sugar-processing job subsidized through artificially high U.S. sugar prices costs three American manufacturing jobs. The impact on the economy is so great that the U.S. Census Bureau estimates the sugar program killed 123,000 jobs between 1997 and 2015. Click here to learn the impact of the U.S. sugar program on your state’s economy.

The sugar program has zero benefit for the American consumer, and this “sugar shakedown” is baked into nearly every food, snack, and treat available in grocery store aisles. Independent estimates show this hidden tax costs Americans between $2.4 and $4 billion each year.

The Sugar Policy Modernization Act (H.R. 4265 / SB. 2086), introduced by a bicameral, bipartisan group of federal lawmakers late last year, would reform the outdated and outrageous program. The proposal creates an adequate supply of sugar based on a reasonable competitive approach that reaches from the farm to the retail shelf – without risking an appropriate safety net for farmers. Congress can reform the U.S. sugar program this year as part of its consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill, which sets government agriculture policy.

“While we are calling for modest reform, the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy was not formed to eliminate or dismantle the U.S. sugar program. In fact, we believe the family farmer and the families that depend on food manufacturing workers should be at the center of the conversation and debate around agriculture policy in this country,” the letter concludes. “It’s time to say yes to fairness, yes to competitiveness, and yes to protecting and creating American jobs.”

You can find a full copy of the letter here. Signers of the letter include:

• American Bakers Association
• American Frozen Food Institute
• Americans for Tax Reform
• Bullsugar.org
• Competitive Enterprise Institute
• Consumer Federation of America
• Consumer Choice Center
• Council for Citizens Against Government Waste
• Everglades Trust
• Grocery Manufacturers Association
• Independent Bakers Association
• National Association of Manufacturers
• National Confectioners Association
• National Consumers League
• Peanut and Tree Nut Processors Association
• Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
• SNAC International
• Sweetener Users Association
• Taxpayers Protection Alliance

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) is a broad-based coalition advocating to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program. Formed by a sizable group of small, family-owned businesses and manufacturers, retailers, food and beverage companies, trade associations, environmental advocates, taxpayer watchdog organizations, responsible government advocates, think tanks, and other organizations, the group’s goal is to help level the playing field for American manufacturers and their families when it comes to being able to create jobs. To learn more about the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy and the need for sugar reform, please visit FairSugarPolicy.org.

For more information about the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy, please visit FairSugarPolicy.org.

 

Washington, D.C. (April 12, 2018) – In response to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway’s release of the 2018 Farm Bill, the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) released the following statement:

“For families whose livelihoods depend on the more than 600,000 American manufacturing jobs in sugar-using industries in every state across the country, the Farm Bill released today is a major disappointment. That’s because it lacks critical modernization of the U.S. sugar program, which is supported by a broad coalition of consumer, business and environmental groups and Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate. It is the only commodity subsidy program that has not been modernized in the past 80 years.

“Once again, the voices of these families have been shut out of the debate. It’s time for the family farmer AND the families that depend on manufacturing workers to be at the center of the conversation around agriculture policy in America.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher for American small businesses and manufacturing families. The sugar program forces U.S. manufacturers to pay twice as much for sugar as the rest of the world, putting American businesses at a competitive disadvantage when it comes to creating jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, every sugar-processing job subsidized through artificially high U.S. sugar prices costs three American manufacturing jobs. The impact is so great, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the sugar program killed 123,000 jobs between 1997 and 2015. With their livelihoods at stake, American workers cannot afford to wait as Congress kicks the can down the road yet again.

“Yesterday, the Chairman released a video calling for modernizing the nutrition title of the Farm Bill in the name of ‘getting the policy right.’ If this Congress really wants to ‘get the policy right’ in the bill, then it’s time to modernize the U.S. sugar program. It’s time to say yes to fairness, yes to competitiveness, and yes to protecting and creating American jobs.”

The AFSP supports the Sugar Policy Modernization Act (H.R. 4265 / S. 2086), which was introduced by a bicameral, bipartisan group of lawmakers late last year and would reform the outdated and outrageous program. The proposal would help ensure an adequate supply of sugar at reasonable prices, so there is some competition in the U.S. market – while preserving the sugar program and not risking an appropriate safety net for farmers. The bill would not abolish the program or hurt farmers. Congress can reform the U.S. sugar program this year as part of its consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill.

Click here to view a one-minute animated video that explains the issue.

Click here to learn more about the impact of the sugar program on your state.

Click here to hear directly from small business owners and employees across the country being hurt by the sugar program.

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) is a broad-based coalition advocating to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program. Formed by a sizeable group of small, family-owned businesses and manufacturers, retailers, food and beverage companies, trade associations, environmental advocates, taxpayer watchdog organizations, responsible government advocates, think tanks and other organizations, the group’s goal is to help level the playing field for American manufacturers and their families when it comes to being able to create jobs.

To learn more about the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy and the need for sugar reform, please visit FairSugarPolicy.org.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 4, 2018) – In a new video released today, Indiana-based Albanese Confectionery Group, Inc. CEO Tess Albanese joins the chorus of voices calling for the modernization of the U.S. sugar program. The second-generation candy maker explains why the outdated U.S. sugar program is harming her business and employees.

“Not only am I competing with unfair trade laws with places like Europe, but I’m also now having to buy ingredients that are sometimes twice as expensive,” says Albanese. “Untie my hand behind my back and let me have a fair fight.”

The current sugar program artificially raises U.S. sugar prices to nearly twice the world average, impeding American companies’ ability to invest back into their companies, workers, and communities. Albanese goes on to describe why we need to level the playing field: “so that my family can go out there and we can create jobs, and we can win on a national and international level.”

The Sugar Policy Modernization Act (H.R. 4265 / SB. 2086), introduced by a bicameral, bipartisan group of federal lawmakers late last year, would reform the outdated and outrageous program. The proposal creates an adequate supply of sugar based on a reasonable competitive approach that reaches from the farm to the retail shelf – without risking an appropriate safety net for farmers. Congress can reform the U.S. sugar program this year as part of its consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill, which sets government agriculture policy.

Albanese Confectionery Group, Inc. isn’t alone in calling on Congress to reform the U.S. sugar program. To hear what others are saying, watch the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy’s new video series.

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) is a broad-based coalition advocating to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program. Formed by a sizeable group of small, family-owned businesses and manufacturers, retailers, food and beverage companies, trade associations, environmental advocates, taxpayer watchdog organizations, responsible government advocates, think tanks and other organizations, the group’s goal is to help level the playing field for American manufacturers and their families when it comes to being able to create jobs. To learn more about the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy and the need for sugar reform, please visit FairSugarPolicy.org.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 4, 2018) – In a new video released today, Hawaiian Host Inc. CEO, Keith Sakamoto, joins the chorus of voices calling for reform of the U.S. sugar program. With manufacturing facilities in both Los Angeles and Honolulu, the manufacturer of popular brand-name confections explains why the outdated U.S. sugar program is harming his business and employees.

“It makes it very difficult and unfair for us in the international arena,” says Sakamoto speaking to the competitive disadvantage imposed by the U.S. sugar program. “It’s also about the broader economic impact that we have with our vendors and our customers and the jobs that those will create as well.”

Sakamoto explains that in addition to their 500 employees, Hawaiian Host Inc.’s reach expands to their vendors. “We buy materials and ingredients in terms of chocolate, butter, packaging materials, and they employ a lot of people as well.” To be able to compete, he says, “Let’s reform the sugar program so that we can level the playing field for U.S. companies like us.”

The Sugar Policy Modernization Act (H.R. 4265 / SB. 2086), introduced by a bicameral, bipartisan group of federal lawmakers late last year, would reform the outdated and outrageous program. The proposal creates an adequate supply of sugar based on a reasonable competitive approach that reaches from the farm to the retail shelf – without risking an appropriate safety net for farmers. Congress can reform the U.S. sugar program this year as part of its consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill, which sets government agriculture policy.

Hawaiian Host Inc. isn’t alone in calling on Congress to reform the U.S. sugar program. To hear what others are saying, watch the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy’s new video series.

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) is a broad-based coalition advocating to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program. Formed by a sizeable group of small, family-owned businesses and manufacturers, retailers, food and beverage companies, trade associations, environmental advocates, taxpayer watchdog organizations, responsible government advocates, think tanks and other organizations, the group’s goal is to help level the playing field for American manufacturers and their families when it comes to being able to create jobs. To learn more about the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy and the need for sugar reform, please visit FairSugarPolicy.org.

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 4, 2018) – In a new video released today, Texas-based manufacturer Atkinson Candy Company joins the chorus of voices calling for reform of the U.S. sugar program. Employees and leaders from the company discuss how the sugar program, which forces U.S.-based manufacturers to pay double for the price of sugar, affects their livelihood and puts American companies at a competitive disadvantage.

Workers at the family-owned company in Lufkin, Texas expressed the importance of their workplace to their families and communities. Denise, an 11-year packaging employee, said, “It’s very important to have the factory. We have family, and we have to take care of them.”

Atkinson Candy employs more than 200 people in the area, bringing vital economic support to the community. “We can at least keep the businesses open so that we can have employees and keep the business going,” notes Joshua, an operations employee. “We can make Lufkin grow. We can make Atkinson grow.”

The Sugar Policy Modernization Act (H.R. 4265 / SB. 2086), introduced by a bicameral, bipartisan group of federal lawmakers late last year, would reform the outdated and outrageous program. The proposal creates an adequate supply of sugar based on a reasonable competitive approach that reaches from the farm to the retail shelf – without risking an appropriate safety net for farmers. Congress can reform the U.S. sugar program this year as part of its consideration of the 2018 Farm Bill, which sets government agriculture policy.

Atkinson Candy isn’t alone in calling on Congress to reform the U.S. sugar program. To hear what others are saying, watch the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy’s new video series.

The Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy (AFSP) is a broad-based coalition advocating to modernize the outdated and outrageous U.S. sugar program. Formed by a sizeable group of small, family-owned businesses and manufacturers, retailers, food and beverage companies, trade associations, environmental advocates, taxpayer watchdog organizations, responsible government advocates, think tanks and other organizations, the group’s goal is to help level the playing field for American manufacturers and their families when it comes to being able to create jobs. To learn more about the Alliance for Fair Sugar Policy and the need for sugar reform, please visit FairSugarPolicy.org.