By Paulina
Sep 7, 2025
If you’ve ever sipped a Coca-Cola in Mexico, you’ve likely noticed that it tastes a little different, and that’s because the recipe is also different. For decades, Coca-Cola bottled in Mexico has been made with real sugarcane, while in the United States, the standard has long been high-fructose corn syrup. This difference might seem small, but it carries significant implications not just as a matter of flavor but for health and even the environment.
What’s interesting is that the sugarcane formula isn’t unique to Mexico. Across Latin America, Europe, and Asia, Coca-Cola still uses sugarcane as its base sweetener. Yet here in the U.S., despite the popularity of imported “Mexican Coke,” it has never received the same kind of spotlight or strong marketing campaigns. It exists in the background, similarly to a secret shared between those who seek it out. Since 1980, Coke has used high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten its sodas.
Today, with a growing awareness of health and environmental issues, more people are rethinking what they consume. Whether it’s natural sugar, artificial sweeteners, or low-calorie alternatives, the real conversation is about making conscious choices. Younger generations especially are searching for options that align with both personal health and sustainability. My campaign’s goal is to highlight the benefits of sugarcane. Not only as a healthier choice compared to corn syrup, but also as an eco-friendly and solution-oriented path to engage specific audiences.
High-fructose corn syrup has dominated the industry in recent decades because of corporate funding from the corn and sugar industries, which in turn has manipulated scientific discourse in favor of their interests.
In the New Black Coca-cola Sugarcane Campaign, I wanted to represent a youth that may often be misrepresented, yet is willing to stand up for what they value as their best choice.
As early as the 1960s, Harvard scientists published reviews that minimized sugar’s role in heart disease while actively promoting saturated fat. This redirection of emphasis created the conditions for the expansion of HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup).
The industry of producing HFCS has continued to grow because it is cheaper, convenient in terms of texture, and supported by technologies that have been consistently funded by the corn industry.
There have been long-standing health concerns associated with high-fructose corn syrup, particularly its connection to obesity and type 2 diabetes. It has been reported that HFCS interferes with leptin, the hormone responsible for signaling when the body is full and should stop eating. In this way, consumption can make it more difficult to regulate hunger and may lead to exaggerated cravings (source).
We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply,” said the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Dr. David Wallinga. In one study, researchers found detectable mercury in nine of the twenty samples of high-fructose corn syrup tested. Discoveries like this highlight additional risks surrounding its production and consumption.
Beyond health, HFCS raises broader environmental issues. Its large-scale production relies on pesticides and chemical fertilizers that contaminate soils and groundwater. Corn cultivation on this scale contributes to habitat loss and deforestation, while intensive processing and industrial agriculture release significant greenhouse gas emissions.
“High-fructose corn syrup may be cheap in the supermarket, but in the environment it could not be more expensive,” says Michael Pollan, author of “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto” (Penguin Press, 2008).
By offering consumers the option to choose sugarcane, brands — not only Coca-Cola but also others across the food and beverage industry — can begin to reduce these harmful production practices.
This shift would promote eco-conscious methods while addressing consumer skepticism and growing concerns about personal health, transparency, and sustainability.
Sugarcane allows the campaign to connect with consumers on multiple levels:
Even though controlling overall sugar intake remains the most important priority, switching to sugarcane is a better way to start. From the fields of sugarcane to the final beverage, this ingredient marks a unique change to look forward to. It might be the beginning of this dark-colored soda being less of a guilty pleasure.
