Once photosynthesis creates sugar, plants have the unique abiity to change sugar to starch and starch to various sugars for storage. This diversity provides us with a wide variety of tasty fruits and vegetables, from the starchy potato to the sweet carrot.

Sugar cane and sugar beet plants contain sucrose in large quantities, and that's why they are used as commercial sources of sugar. A stalk of the cane plant contains about 14% sugar. sugar beets contain about 16%.

The Sugar Association, Inc. Fast Facts About Sugar 1101 15th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005. 202/785-1122