After four decades drinking Coca-Cola sweetened with corn syrup, Americans are going to get the chance to buy the soda made from domestic cane sugar. But whether US farmers can meet that demand is unclear.

The situation somewhat echoes what happened in the ’80s, when Coca-Cola introduced a new version of its iconic sip, only to face enormous consumer backlash. That led the company to bring back the old version, dubbed Coca-Cola Classic, which was sold alongside the new Coke. Eventually, the classic Coke won out and new Coke was discontinued.

White granulated sugar can be made either from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) or sugar beets. Cane sugar is the type made from sugarcane. The sucrose molecules in both types of sugar are ...