9 The Story of Sugar

THE STORY OF SUGAR by Shalini Vallepur

HOP IN THE COOKIE JAR Hello! I'm Eli, and this is my food truck. It's called the Cookie Jar because I make the sweetest cookies around. MENU Plain cookie Frosted cookie Chocolate chip cookie Oatmeal cookie Oh, no! I'm out of sugar! I use sugar to make my cookies. I need to get more sugar. Hop in the Cookie Jar and join me! THE COOKIE JAR

THE STORY OF SUGAR sugar farm in Brazil Sugar is grown on farms in countries around the world. THE COOKIE JAR We get refined sugar from two plants called sugarcane and sugar beet. sugarcane sugar beets Sugarcane and sugar beets are very different plants, but the sugar inside is exactly the same.

PERFECT WEATHER Sugarcane is a type of grass. It grows best in areas that are warm and sunny all year round. It needs a lot of rain. THE COOKIE JAR Sugar beet grows best in cooler areas. My sugarcane map shows some of the countries around the world where sugarcane grows. NORTH AMERICA Brazil SOUTH AMERICA EUROPE India AFRICA South Africa ASIA China Indonesia Australia Let's head to Australia and get some sugar!

THE FARM THE COOKIE JAR We made it to the sugar farm. Each row of plants has space around it so the plants have lots of room to grow. Sugarcane grows to about 16 feet (5 m) tall. It takes about a year for sugarcane to grow to its full size. Can you see how tall the sugarcane is compared to this person?

TIME TO HARVEST Sugarcane is usually harvested and cut into smaller pieces by machines called cane harvesters. THE COOKIE JAR The smaller pieces are put into a trailer and taken away to make sugar. In some countries, sugarcane is harvested by hand. While harvesting, farmers leave a little bit of the sugarcane in the ground. New sugarcane grows from these parts.