Final answer:
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) replaced ABE fermentation due to its cost-effectiveness. The production of HFCS was favored by the abundant growth of field corn in the US and economic policies that made sugar cane more expensive. HFCS became widely used in the American food industry, including soda manufacturing.
Step-by-step explanation:
What eventually replaced ABE fermentation after the cost of molasses increased significantly was High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), a product derived from field corn. Field corn is abundantly produced in the United States due to its adaptability to various climates, thus increasing supply and reducing costs. On the other hand, sugar cane production was less efficient outside of ideal conditions found in places like Hawaii, making it more expensive. As a result, HFCS became a more cost-effective sweetener in many food products.
Domestic and international economic factors, including sugar subsidies, tariffs, and the comparative cost of labor, also played a significant role in this shift. Foreign-produced sugar often came at a lower price due to cheaper labor and different climate conditions. This economic reality, when combined with policies such as subsidies and tariffs that made domestic sugar more expensive, incentivized food manufacturers to seek alternative sweeteners like HFCS.
Moreover, the displacement of granulated cane and beet sugars by HFCS considerably impacted the American diet. In the case of the beverage industry, for example, many soda manufacturers in the United States switched from using cane sugar to HFCS, which was less costly due to these factors.