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2008-03-04 issue:

Boycott Coke and smile

Speaking Out column

by Scott Key

Print Article

Image is everything. Whether you are a startup company or a multinational corporation, instant recognition is desired and increases market share. Nike’s trademark is the swoosh, McDonald’s is the golden arches, Coca-Cola’s is the red and white swirl. Corporations will do anything to keep their images untarnished in order to increase their profits and shareholder return.



Some corporations combine visual symbols with catchy jingles to embed their image into the consciousness of the consumer. Coca-Cola® does this better than any other corporation and has succeeded in conveying themselves as the world’s beverage bringing peace and harmony.
But does image match reality?

With more than a billion people living in hot and humid conditions, India was seen as an untapped market. Coca-Cola® bottling plants have sprung up to quench India’s thirst. This all seems reasonable, but the production of Coke products requires the extraction of large amounts of groundwater. Since India has one-sixth of the world’s population but only 4 percent of the world’s fresh water, this is India’s most precious resource, needed for daily living and sustenance farming. In addition, in 2003, a BBC investigation revealed dangerous levels of toxic materials such as cadmium in the waste from the Kerala plant. This toxic waste was given to local farmers as fertilizer, thus contaminating agricultural lands and the remaining groundwater.

If depleting groundwater and leaving toxic waste untreated aren’t enough, the Center for Science and Environment found high levels of pesticides and other hazardous chemicals in Coke products. When the southern state of Kerala banned the sale of Coke products, the Kerala High Court overturned the ban because the government overstepped its authority. According to India Resource Center, Coca-Cola® has destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of people, but the long-term effects of exposure to toxic waste and pesticides is unknown.

These devastating production practices are not limited to India. The London-based antipoverty group, War on Want, reports similar practices in Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama. Beyond these practices, Coca-Cola® is involved in suppressing unions in Colombia, Indonesia and Turkey. It appears that Coca-Cola® was complicit in the murder of seven union leaders who worked in Colombian bottling plants. SINALTRINAL, the targeted union, reported that paramilitary troops shot these workers. Coca-Cola® has denied responsibility and rejected calls for an independent inquiry. According to United Students Against Sweatshops, workers in Indonesia and Turkey have been fired for openly working to form unions.

Coca-Cola® has done little to change its practices despite protests and legal challenges. The corporation has even ignored shareholder resolutions to become more socially responsible. Instead of bringing peace and harmony, Coca-Cola® puts profits and shareholder return before people.

Boycotts work. Nike® was guilty of unfair labor practices, but consumer pressure led to changes, such as paying workers a living wage. The corporation was able to polish their tarnished swoosh by becoming more socially responsible. While some corporations choose systemic change, others simply placate consumers and bide their time. Consumers matter. Boycotts work, but vigilance is needed.

We are called “to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Jesus cared for people; he fed, healed and loved people of all ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. We are to do the same, and “in everything do to others as you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). The damage Coca-Cola® does may not touch us directly, but Jesus tells us that we are the light of the world, and light illumines the darkness (Matthew 5:14-16).

What can you do?

First, stop drinking Coke products. Second, encourage others to join you in a personal boycott. Third, encourage institutions and organizations you are associated with, such as Mennonite schools, to ban Coke.

Institutions and individuals can come up with many rationales for not doing the right thing. Should my institution, Fresno Pacific University, break its contract, pay the penalties and ban Coke? Absolutely. I invite you to join me in boycotting Coke products, and together perhaps we can teach the world to sing in more perfect harmony.

A list of products can be found at www.thecoca-colacompany.com/brands/brandlist.html.

Scott Key teaches at Fresno (Calif.) Pacific University. He is a member of Mennonite Community Church in Fresno.

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