11 Agricultural Cuba 



Sugar is one of the best elements for a balanced 

 ration since it has a heat and energy-producing 

 value as great as lean meat, and that the nitrogen 

 retention of proteid food, such as meat, fish, 

 eggs and milk, is increased twenty-five per cent 

 when consumed with sugar. This fact is shown 

 by the following table: 



Meat and Fish 87% Dairy Products. . . 93% 



Eggs 89% Vegetables 95% 



Fruits 90% Sugar 98% 



Cereals 91% 



Sugar is no longer considered a luxury, and in 

 proof of this our national candy bill exceeds 

 ^500,000,000.00 per year. 



In 1870 the total production of cane and beet 

 sugar amounted to 2,750,000 tons. 



In 1 914 the world's production of sugar had 

 risen to 18,773,486 tons — an increase of more 

 than 600 per cent. 



The sugar production of the world is equiv- 

 alent to three times the amount of gold mined 

 each year. It is four times as great as the pro- 

 duction of petroleum. It is three times as great 

 as the production of tobacco and four times as 

 great as the production of coffee. Six times as 

 great as the production of rubber, and is larger 

 than the entire cotton crop of the world. If 

 the demand for sugar increases during the next 

 fifty years, as it has increased during the past 

 fifteen, we must increase our facilities of pro- 

 duction to at least seven times their present 

 capacity. 



On the other hand, if the demand should 

 not increase at all, sugar has been established 

 as a world's food beyond any possibility of 

 deterioration. 



