Final answer:
The research conducted by anthropologist Sidney Mintz regarding the production and exchange of sugar was an important study of the impacts of colonialism and globalization at the local level. Mintz explored how European merchants designed a lucrative system of production and consumption based on sugar, which had negative consequences for local and enslaved people.
Step-by-step explanation:
The research conducted by anthropologist Sidney Mintz regarding the production and exchange of sugar was an important study of the impacts of colonialism and globalization at the local level. Mintz explored how European merchants designed a very lucrative system of production and consumption based on sugar. European consumers developed a taste for sugar in the 17th century, which led to the development of sugar plantations in the New World using enslaved labor from West Africa. This system resulted in the exploitation of local people and the suffering of enslaved people.