home





= What is sugarcane? =


 * Sugarcane is tall towering grass that looks like a bamboo-cane. The scientific name for **


 * the sugarcane plant is Saccharum officinarum (Plant Cultures, (n.d.). Sugarcane is the **


 * main source of sugar around the world. **

= Appearance of sugarcane =


 * Sugar cane can grow up to six meters long. There are wide leaves that grow off of the stem **


 * on the sugar cane plant. The stem is a bright green color (Naik, Abihjit, (2010, April 20). Sugar **


 * cane grows best in warm and sunny conditions (Figure 1). It needs productive and fertile soil. **


 * It also needs approximately 1,500 millimeters of rain every year to grow healthy and be ready **


 * for the harvesting season (Prosperine, . (n.d.). Sugar cane needs proper protection from **

==
 * weeds and other pests that can prevent the plant from growing up in good physical shape.﻿ **

= Sugarcane grown around the world =


 * Sugar cane was first introduced In India. Sugar cane got famous very fast and it was soon **


 * extended to many parts of the world. Sugar cane is grown in over 121 countries around the **


 * world (Pagewise, (2002). Some countries where sugar cane is grown are: India, Spain, Italy, **

==
 * Europe, Australia, Brazil and the United States (Figure 2) ( Pagewise,(2002). **

= Products and by-products made from Sugarcane =


 * The main product derived from the sugar cane plant is sugar. However there are also many **


 * by-products that are produced when refining the sugar cane plant. Bagasse is the cane fibre **


 * that remains after all the juice has been taken out (Figure 3) (SKIL, . (n.d.). This provides **


 * enough fuel to power up all the mills used for refining the sugar cane. When the bagasse is **


 * crushed it could make a lot of electricity (SKIL, . (n.d.). Another by product is molasses. **


 * Molasses is the dark syrup that is found after all the juice is taken out. It is a raw material, **


 * which is used for the production of alcohol (SKIL, . (n.d.). Sugar cane is harvested from the **


 * stem (Oracle Education Foundation, . (2010, August 25). This is where the main product **


 * sugar is enclosed. Approximately 70 percent of sugar is produced from the sugar cane plant. **


 * The other 30 percent is produced from sugar beet (Oracle Education Foundation, . (2010, **

==
 * August 25). **

= Making the product =


 * There are a few steps into making sugar from the sugar cane plant. A lot of things need to be **


 * done to the sugarcane plant to make it into refined sugar so we could use it. **



= Beneficial Impacts =


 * Sugar is used in many things. Firstly sugar is used as a sweetener in foods. In many foods **


 * sugar is an essential part of the recipe. Many cakes and biscuits require you to use sugar in it. **


 * Sugar is used to enhance the taste in foods so that the foods can please the taste buds. Sugar **


 * is used in cooking and baking. Sugar can also be used to preserve certain foods (Gravieli, Idit. **


 * (n.d.). Jam, jellies and ice cream have sugar in them so they can be preserved (Gravieli, Idit. **


 * (n.d.). Sugar reduces the temperature at which food such as ice cream is frozen. In many **


 * countries around the world sugar is also used for medications. It can be used to cure **


 * coughs, constipation, and other fever related sickness (Wageningen University, (n.d.). The **


 * roots from the sugarcane can cure skin and other infections (Wageningen University **


 * (n.d.). Many people around the world use sugar in many foods. Some of these foods include: **


 * coffee, cookies, tea, ice-cream, yogurt, pudding and gravies. Living things improved a lot by **


 * the introduction of sugar. The energy that sugar gives us and other living things when we eat **


 * it is really good for our body. This energy is used by our body for many things. As mentioned **


 * above sugar is used in many medications around the world. Sugar can help cure a lot of **


 * illness and diseases. Sugar production helps a lot in the Canadian industry a lot as well. In **


 * 2006 Canada earned approximately $ 76.5,000 in the profit of selling sugar (Jain, . (n.d.). We **


 * made approximately 74,068 tonnes of refined sugar (Jain, . (n.d.). Sugar cane is a very **


 * profitable plant all around the world (Figure 5). It can be sold raw or it can be refined into **


 * sugar which can be sold for high prices. Although the production of sugarcane can harm the **


 * environment in many ways it can also benefit the environment. While the juices are being **


 * extracted from the sugar cane the remaining cane fibers which are called bagasse are **


 * extremely helpful. Bagasse can provide enough fuel to run a whole sugar mill. Since it is a **


 * renewable sugar source no fuel is needed to run the mill. So no electricity is needed in the **


 * production of sugarcane. Before sugar was introduced to the world many other things were **


 * used as sweeteners. Sugar replaced honey, dates, fruits, cocoa, beans, and syrups such as **


 * maple syrup (Figure 7). **


 * **Top Sugar producers in the world ** || **Amount of sugar made in tonnes ** ||
 * **Brazil ** || **22.2 ** ||
 * **Thailand ** || **4.5 ** ||
 * **Australia ** || **3.9 ** ||
 * **Africa ** || **2.3 ** ||
 * **Guatemala ** || **1.9 ** ||
 * **India ** || **1.34 ** ||
 * Figure 7-The top sugar producers around the world in 2008. **

= Harmful Impacts =


 * The environment is harmed a lot by the production of sugar. Every year approximately 5-6 **


 * million hectors are lost in the production of sugarcane crops (Sugar and the environment - **


 * encouraging better management practices in sugar production and processing. (2005). **


 * Growing sugarcane crops can lead to the reduction of soil during the harvesting season. **


 * These impacts can lead to the damage of soil fertility. Thus soil erosion occurs. Many of the **


 * fields are burned after the harvesting season in order for the new batch of sugarcane to grow **


 * (Sugar and the environment - encouraging better management practices in sugar production **


 * and processing. (2005). Although this is good for the farmers it also ruins the soil. Many of the **


 * nutrients from the soil are lost and soil degradation happens (Sugar and the environment - **


 * encouraging better management practices in sugar production and processing. (2005). **


 * Approximately 1 million fish die every year (Sugar and the environment - encouraging better **


 * management practices in sugar production and processing. (2005). Many tropical rain forest **


 * are cleared every year so sugarcane can be grown on it (Glyn, James. (1984). Many animals **


 * lose their habitat because of this. A Lot of water is used to water the sugarcane so they can **


 * grow healthy. Intensive use of chemicals and pesticides are used on the sugarcane. In the **


 * mills a lot of pollution is stored. When these mills are cleaned out a lot of pollution is released **


 * in the air. In America approximately $54 billion are wasted in dental plans (Glyn, James. **


 * (1984). Sugar can cause a lot of tooth decay. Sugar has been linked to feed cancer cells ( **


 * Pagewise, . (2002). Thus resulting in the growth of cancer. Sugar has also been associated **


 * with weakening the eyesight. Sugary foods are very addicting and they can lead to **


 * obesity. Many other diseases have been linked to the consumption of sugar. There are many **


 * alternatives that could be used instead of sugar. Some of these are:Fruit juice, maple, **


 * syrup, honey, dates, glycerol, fructose and many more (Pagewise, . (2002). **



= Conclusion =


 * Sugar cane is the main source of sugar around the world. Sugarcane is best grown in humid **


 * temperatures. It is grown in over 121 countries around the world and many by products of **


 * sugarcane are produced (Pagewise, (2002). One of the many by products is bagasse. **


 * Bagasse is the remains of the cane fiber after all the juice has been extracted (Babu, C.N. **


 * (1979). Bagasse is extremely helpful in running the mills. 70 percent of sugar is produced **


 * from the sugar cane plant (Oracle Education Foundation, . (2010, August 25). The other 30 **


 * percent comes from sugar beet (Oracle Education Foundation, . (2010, August 25). From **


 * sweeteners to medications, sugar can be used for many different and helpful things around **


 * the world. Sugar gives a lot of energy to humans and although the production does harm the **


 * environment there are many Eco-friendly remains from the sugar cane that can be used to **


 * power the mills. Habitat loss is one of the main concerns of sugarcane agriculture. Good or **


 * bad, consequently sugarcane has impacted mankind in a lot of ways. **

= References =

=Picture citations:= =Books citations:=
 * 1) Willis, Alex. (Photographer). (2006). //Bioethanol sources//. [Web]. Retrieved from 1. http://blogs.princeton.edu/chm333/f2006/biomass/ethanol%20SUGAR%20CANE2.jpg
 * 2) Netafirn, . (Photographer). //Global distribution of sugarcane// . [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.sugarcanecrops.com/introduction/
 * 3) admin, . (Photographer). (2010). //Bagasse – overview & commercial packaging applications of bagasse// . [Web]. Retrieved from http://vivbizclub.com/blog/2010/02/02/bagasse/
 * 4) Truestar Health & Healthnotes, Initials. (Photographer). (2010). //Natural sweeteners//. [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.truestarhealth.com/Notes/1841005.html
 * 5) Dirty, Nailz. (Photographer). (2009). //Sugar scrub//. [Web]. Retrieved from http://diggingri.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/sugar-scrub/
 * 6) Ramat, Gan. (Photographer). (2010). //Sugar cane//. [Web]. Retrieved from []


 * 1) Babu, C.N. (1979). //Sugarcane// [2]. (books.Google), Retrieved from http://books.google.ca/books?id=VG94ySBcP2wC&printsec=frontcover&dq=sugarcane&hl=en&ei=JXX9TNXiFtHTngfyjb3ICg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
 * 2) Glyn, James. (1984). //World agriculture series-sugarcane// [2nd edition]. (books.Google), Retrieved from http://books.google.ca/books?id=LpZ0sulWcZYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=sugarcane&hl=en&ei=JXX9TNXiFtHTngfyjb3ICg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false doi: 063205476X

=Text Citations:=


 * 1) Plant Cultures, (n.d.). //Sugar cane - plant profile//. Retrieved from http://www.plantcultures.org/plants/sugar_cane_plant_profile.html
 * 2) Nordic, Sugar. (n.d.). //How sugar arrived in Europe//. Retrieved from http://www.dansukker.com/Default.aspx?ID=710
 * 3) Naik, Abihjit. (2010, April 20). //Sugarcane plant//. Retrieved from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sugar-cane-plant.html
 * 4) Pagewise, . (2002). //History of sugarcane//. Retrieved from []
 * 5) Prosperine, . (n.d.). //Growing sugarcane//. Retrieved from http://www.proserpine.com/sugar/page4.html
 * 6) Gravieli, Idit. (n.d.). //Sugarcane//. Retrieved from http://www.sugarcanecrops.com/introduction/
 * 7) SKIL, . (n.d.). //Learn how sugar is made//. Retrieved from http://www.sucrose.com/learn.html
 * 8) Oracle Education Foundation, . (2010, August 25). //How sugar is used?//. Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/06aug/01429/use.html
 * 9) Wageningen University, . (n.d.). //Why is sugar used in foods?//. Retrieved from []
 * 10) Jain, . (n.d.). //Sugarcane cultivation//. Retrieved from http://www.jains.com/PDF/crop/sugarcane%20cultivation.pdf

=Journal Articles:=


 * 1) Sugar and the environment - encouraging better management practices in sugar production and processing. (2005). Retrieved from http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/all_publications/?22255///Sugar-and-the-Environment-Encouraging-Better-Management-Practices-in-Sugar-Production-and-Processing//

=Encyclopedia Articles:=


 * 1) Barnes, A.C. (2008). sugarcane. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from //http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/sugarcane.aspx//