Killer Coke
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Killer Coke News Archive | 2017


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"Obese woman finally beats Coca-Cola addiction that gripped her life for 30 years, costing her $10,000, and drops 89LBS - giving her the confidence to start dating for the first time in YEARS" by Marlene Lenthang, Daily Mail, October 9, 2017
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"Kansas mother Char Norman dropped from 213lbs to 124lbs after ending her six-cola-cups a day addiction and starting an exercise regimen

"The 47-year-old is now one year free of her addiction that started at age 16

"The mom guzzled 65,000 cans of cola over the past three decades and placed a constant supply of drinks next to her bed to satisfy odd-hour cravings"

"Coca-Cola Needs a Diet" by Wubbe Bos, Seeking Alpha, October 6, 2017
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"Coca-Cola (KO) has seen revenue decline from $48B in 2012 to $38.8B in the last twelve months. This decline in revenue is accompanied by a decline in earnings per share from $1.97 to $0.95. True, some of this decline is temporarily due to the reorganization of American bottlers, currency headwinds and structural headwinds but even taking those into account, performance has been mediocre at best.

"Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) (BRK.B) is a long time shareholder and due to enormous tax consequences is married to the stock. An acquisition by 3G Capital to implement cost cutting could benefit all shareholders and would probably have the blessings of Warren Buffett. Even without an acquisition, a stronger focus on cost and premium drinks could help reinvigorate this world-class company."

"Coca-Cola Used 1 Billion More Plastic Bottles Last Year, For a Total of 110 Billion Per Year" by Steve Hanley, CleanTechnica, October 4, 2017
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"Plastic bottles are a curse humanity has cast upon the world. Experts estimate that by 2021, more than half a trillion of single-use, throwaway plastic bottles will be used by beverage companies. Coca-Cola alone is responsible for more than 20% of that total. According to Greenpeace, its use of these vile products increased by more than one billion units from 2015 to 2016. Last year, more than 110 billion disposable plastic bottles were set adrift on the economic waters of the world by Coca-Cola and its affiliates, according to an analysis by Greenpeace."

Killer Coke

Greenpeace Canada Oceans campaigner Sarah King
with a collection of Coca-Cola bottles and caps found on Freedom Island, Philippines.
Photograph: Daniel Mueller/Greenpeace

"ARTIFICIALLY SWEETENED DRINKS (ASPARTAME, ETC.) FOUND TO TRIPLE YOUR RISK OF STROKE & DEMENTIA" by ARJUN WAL,I Collective Evolution (CE), Sept 5, 2017
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"Artificial sweeteners have been a controversial topic for a long time, and despite a harsh industry response, multiple studies have implicated them in a host of health issues, including diabetes and cancer. Now, a new study has emerged out of Boston University showing that drinking diet soda regularly nearly triples your risk of developing stroke or dementia."

"Coca-Cola Amatil loses its fizz as Australians give soft drinks a miss" by Sarah Danckert, The Sydney Morning Herald, August 23, 2017
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"Coca-Cola Amatil shares have dropped after the fizz went out of the group's first-half earnings, with more Australians taking a pass on soft drinks and price pressure in its branded water business crimping its profit growth."

"Coca-Cola profits dive as Australians favour health and variety" by Alana Mitchelson, New Daily, August 23, 2017
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"Australian-based Coke producer Coca-Cola Amatil has reported a heavy profit slump, following a string of branding changes as the awareness about sugar ramps up.

"Coca-Cola Amatil suffered a half-year profit decline of 29.3 per cent with sales of fizzy drinks falling 3.8 per cent.

"This followed a challenging year for the soft drink giant during which it launched Coke with Stevia in April, shortly after discontinuing production of green-labelled Coke Life."

"Pastors sue Coca-Cola: 'It is a matter of life and death'", WGAL, July 19, 2017
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"Two pastors are suing Coca Cola, claiming the company is deceiving the public by selling their products with positive advertising."

"Pastors Sue Coca-Cola, Alleging That Its Products Are Leading To Death In Black Communities,"
"Pastor Delman Coates: 'We're losing more people to the sweets than to the streets'"
Blavity Team, 7/13/17

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According to The Florida Times-Union, Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal's senior pastor William Lamar and Mt. Ennon Baptist Church's pastor Delman Coates have partnered with a public health organization to sue Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association (ABA).

Filed in D.C. Superior Court, the suit claims that the brand knowingly deceived its customers about the soda's health risks, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke and obesity.

The pastors allege that one of Coke's campaigns intentionally confused consumers regarding obesity, with the ads stating that a lack of exercise and not sugar intake causes obesity...

The suit goes on to state that the beverage giant's marketing tactics are similar to those once used by tobacco companies.

"It's become really clear to me that we're losing more people to the sweets than to the streets," Coates said. "There's a great deal of misinformation in our communities, and I think that's largely a function of these deceptive marketing campaigns."

Coates told the Times-Union that as a result of these campaigns, he often witnesses his parishioners giving their infants bottles of Coke...

Coca-Cola is dismissing the pastors' allegations...Lamar believes that the facts are on his side that nothing that Coca-Cola does can "negate the science or the fact that their marketing is mendacious."

'We're losing more people to the sweets than to the streets': Why two black pastors are suing Coca-Cola' by Caitlin Dewey, The Washington Post 7/13/17
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William Lamar, the senior pastor at D.C.'s historic Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, is tired of presiding over funerals for parishioners who died of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

So on Thursday, he and another prominent African American pastor filed suit against Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association, claiming soda manufacturers knowingly deceived customers about the health risks of sugar-sweetened beverages -- at enormous cost to their communities.

The complaint, filed in D.C. Superior Court Thursday on behalf of the pastors and the Praxis Project, a public health group, alleges that Coke and the ABA ran an intentional campaign to confuse consumers about the causes of obesity.

Lamar and Delman Coates, the pastor at Maryland's Mount Ennon Baptist Church, claim soda marketing has made it more difficult for them to protect the health of their largely black, D.C.-based parishioners...

The lawsuit marks a break with tradition for African American and Latino community groups who have been reliable allies of Big Soda for years in policy fights across the country -- despite overwhelming evidence that the harms of drinking soda impact their communities disproportionately...

Multiple studies by the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at the University of Connecticut have found that soda advertisements appear more frequently during TV shows targeted to black audiences. Black teens see three times as many Coca-Cola ads than white teens do. Billboards and other signs for low-nutrient foods show up more in black and Latino neighborhoods.

And yet, minority communities have historically been stalwart allies of large soda-makers, Coca-Cola included. As New York University professor Marion Nestle details in her book "Soda Politics," those companies have been major funders of minority advocacy groups, including the NAACP, since the 1950s -- a strategy initially intended to expose soda to new demographics.

Advocacy groups representing people of color, including local chapters of the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation, have since become instrumental in beating back soda taxes in places such as New York, Richmond, Calif., and Santa Fe, N.M. When the American Beverage Association sued to prevent the implementation of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's soda tax in early 2013, both the NAACP and Hispanic Federation filed a brief in support of it.

"Coca-Cola not to go back to Plachimada," The Hindu, July 13, 2017
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"12-year-long legal battle between people of Perumatty village and Coca-Cola ends

"The Supreme Court on Thursday recorded a submission by Coca-Cola that it has no intention to open and resume operations in its controversial Plachimada factory in Kerala, thus drawing to a close the 12-year-long litigation fought tooth and nail between the people of Perumatty panchayat and the multinational soft drink major.

"If you care so much, Coke, why aren't your bottles 100% recycled? by John Sauven, The Guardian, July 13, 2017
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"Coca-Cola's grand announcement on plastic packaging is a lot of PR fizz. But when you look at the detail, it's all a bit flat.

"The news that the company is to increase the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles to 50% shows a startling lack of ambition from the soft-drinks giant to tackle one of the greatest environmental challenges facing us: the plastic pollution choking our oceans."

"The CDC's ties to Coca Cola go deeper than its new director" by Jesse Hirsch, The New Food Economy, July 11, 2017
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"Many consumers know to be wary of industry-sponsored scientific research (toxic sludge is not, in fact, good for you). Industries with controversial product lines often cherry-pick friendly scientists--and pay them handsomely--to dredge up data that reflects well on the product. For instance, in the '60s, the sugar industry funded a sketchy study that indicated fat--not sweets--was the real public health scourge (echoes of the Eat Mor Chikin ad campaign).

"It gets stickier, however, when those studies are used as levers to affect public policy. The Coca Cola company, long a funder of this kind of dubious research (e.g., diet soda is better than water!), was just found to be pushing their results on the federal government. A public records request from U.S. Right to Know revealed a cache of emails between Coke reps, scientists, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

"These murky ties may warrant further scrutiny, in light of Trump's new pick to head the CDC. Dr. Barbara Fitzgerald, Georgia's public health commissioner, was named CDC director on Friday, a choice that some observers found refreshingly moderate. A little digging, however, showed that Fitzgerald not only has touted some anti-aging pseudoscience over the course of her career--she also has strong ties to Coca Cola.

"Coke, like the CDC, is headquartered in Atlanta. Fitzgerald's state agency received a million dollars from the company to fund a program called Georgia SHAPE, which aims to tackle childhood obesity. Forbes notes that a) Fitzgerald heaped praise on the Coca Cola corporation, and b) for all its advice to young people, SHAPE makes no mention anywhere of avoiding sugary foods."

"Greenpeace spoofs Coca Cola advert to illustrate grim reality of plastic pollution" by Tom Bawden, INews, May 12, 2017
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"Greenpeace has spoofed a Coca Cola advert intended to illustrate the grim reality of our soft drink habit.

"The campaign group has released the video as it embarks upon a scientific voyage around Scotland researching the impact of plastic pollution on some of the UK's most precious marine life, including seabirds and sharks.

"'Studies have shown that 90 per cent of seabirds now have plastic in their stomachs. Coca-Cola may want us to "Taste The Feeling", but marine life shouldn't have to,' says Greenpeace oceans campaigner Louisa Casson."

"Coca-Cola to cut 1,200 jobs, boosts savings target" by Sruthi Ramakrishnan, Reuters Business News, April 25, 2017
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"Coca-Cola and rival PepsiCo Inc's soda sales have taken a hit as consumers in North America and Europe increasingly shun sugary drinks."

"Tamil Nadu: Fresh stir against Coca Cola plant" by K.A. Shaji, The Hindu, April 22, 2017
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"Protest against failure of government to reintroduce tribunal bill

"The Anti Coca-Cola Agitation Committee and Plachimada Struggle Solidarity Committee will launch an indefinite strike in front of the Collectorate here on Saturday in protest against the alleged exploitation of groundwater resources and pollution caused by the aerated drinks major in the predominantly agrarian village of Perumatty. The strike will also highlight the official apathy and continuing neglect towards the victims' demands."

"Should link between dementia and artificial sweeteners be taken with a pinch of salt?
"How people's capacity for forgetfulness and lies may have impacted on research tying stroke and dementia to diet drinks"
The Guardian, By Sarah Boseley, April 21, 2017

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"They were supposed to be the healthy alternative to their sugar-rich siblings. But now lovers of diet colas and other low-calorie drinks have been hit by news that will radically undermine those credentials: a counterintuitive study suggesting a link to stroke and dementia.

"The study in the journal Stroke may cause a rethink among those worried about obesity, diabetes or a possible early heart attack from sugar-rich drinks who have been considering making a change. It comes to the alarming conclusion that people polishing off one can a day of artificially sweetened drink are nearly three times as likely to have a stroke or develop dementia."

"Coca-Cola: Boycott to affect farmers" by Anna Leah E. Gonzales, Manila Standard, April 20, 2017
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"Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol earlier said some protesters in Negros provinces called for a boycott of Coca Cola products, which Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Maranon supported by ordering a ban on the sale and sponsorship of Coca Cola in the province in April.

" 'They cited that because of the massive use by Coca Cola [and Pepsi Cola] of high fructose corn syrup, the prices of sugar dropped from P1,800 per bag of 50 kilos to only P1,300 per bag as of March,' Pinol said."

"Greenpeace protests Coca Cola's plastic pollution" by Jonny Bairstow, Energy Live News, April 10, 2017
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"Greenpeace activists have installed a plastic sculpture at Coca Cola's offices to protest against ocean pollution.

"The environmental campaigners placed the 2.5 tonne model at the front doors of the company's London headquarters in Wimpole Street this morning.

"They claim the action is necessary because the global firm is not taking meaningful action to stop the 100 billion single-use plastic bottles it produces every year ending up in the world's seas and waterways.

"Greenpeace says the firm makes a significant contribution to the 12.7 million tonnes of plastic entering the sea every year."

Tell Coke to stop choking our oceans
Greenpeace, Petition

"It's not good enough that the biggest soft drinks company in the world pumps out billions of throwaway plastic bottles every year and then blames everyone but themselves for their environmental impact.

"As the world's largest soft drinks company, Coca-Cola has a unique responsibility to drastically reduce its plastic footprint and stop its products from choking our oceans.

"We're calling on Coke to commit to phasing out single-use plastic, embrace reusable packaging and make sure the rest is made from 100% recycled content.

"It's clear: if we're going to protect our oceans we need to end the age of throwaway plastic, because our oceans can't stomach any more."

View Petition

"Plachimada set for fresh agitation," The Hindu, April 3, 2017
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"Panel seeks measures to reintroduce compensation Bill and form tribunal

"In the absence of any promised government action to mitigate their sufferings, hundreds of victims of groundwater exploitation and pollution caused by aerated drinks major Coca-Cola in this predominantly agrarian village are preparing for yet another round of intense agitation and that too on the 15th anniversary of their continuing resistance to corporate plunder...

"'Coca-Cola caused severe environmental degradation through excessive extraction of groundwater and irresponsible disposal of sludge. Water sources in the area have been affected, and water scarcity has become more acute,' says P. Murugesan, a local resident.

'The company misguided farmers by passing off the sludge as manure, and is responsible for soil degradation, water contamination, and farm losses. Agriculture production and production of milk, meat, and eggs in the area have dipped,' he says.

'Metals such as cadmium, lead, and chromium have been detected in= the sludge. Skin ailments and breathing problems among people are still on the rise,' says Arumugan."

"Nigerians boycott Coca-Cola drinks after court rules them 'poisonous'"
United News International | March 29, 2017

"A Nigerian judge ordered Sprite and Fanta sodas must be bottled with a written warning telling consumers the high levels of benzoic acid in the soda can be poisonous when consumed with vitamin C"

Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers questioning Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent about Incoming CEO James Quincey's involvement in a scheme which has defrauded Mexican workers and the Mexican government out of billions of dollars.

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NEWS RELEASE

Contact Pat Clark or Ray Rogers
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718-852-2808

Incoming Coca-Cola CEO Charged With Condoning Scheme to Defraud Mexican Government and Workers Out of Billions of Dollars

NEW YORK, New York, April 24, 2017 -- James Quincey, The Coca-Cola Company's incoming CEO, presided over an alleged scheme to defraud Mexican workers and the Mexican government out of billions of dollars while he was President of Coca-Cola's Mexico division between 2005 and 2008, charged Ray Rogers, Director of the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke.

Coca-Cola's alleged scam, which started in 1987, came to light in 2007 when a marketing executive refused to comply with Quincey's directives to employ illegal monopolistic practices to strong-arm Mom-and-Pop stores throughout Mexico to stop selling competing beverages.

After being forced to resign in the presence of an armed guard, the whistleblower discovered a decades-long scheme to circumvent Mexican labor laws requiring 10% profit sharing to employees. That scheme not only defrauded the workers out of hundreds of millions of dollars, but also cheated the Mexican government out of tens of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue.

According to Rogers, "Quincey's promotion to CEO means that Coca-Cola intends to continue its illegal and immoral treatment of workers throughout the world." Quincey joined Coca-Cola's Latin America Group in 1996 and became president of the South Latin Division in 2003. During his tenure in Latin America, Coca-Cola has faced numerous charges of complicity in human rights abuses in Colombia and Guatemala, including the kidnapping, torture and murder of union leaders documented on www.KillerCoke.org and in The Coca-Cola Case, a documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada.

Colombia Reports 8/30/16 stated: "Coca-Cola is one of more than 50 companies that will be charged with financing the now-defunct Colombian paramilitary AUC group ... which killed many dozens of labor rights defenders during its existence between 1997 and 2006, to a transitional justice tribunal."

Rogers asserts, "Holding Coca-Cola responsible for its misconduct in Mexico poses special obstacles because of the company's close ties to the Mexican government." Before serving as Mexico's president between 2000 and 2006, Vicente Fox was Coca-Cola's top executive in Mexico. In October 2014, a Mexican lawsuit charging Coca-Cola, Quincey and other senior executives with liability for the fraudulent labor and tax scam was dismissed.

"With Quincey's elevation to the Coca-Cola's top worldwide job, the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke will redouble its efforts to bring Quincey and the company to justice," says Rogers, who stated that "the Campaign has opened an investigation into the circumstances of how and why the Mexican lawsuit was dismissed."

Rogers said that the Campaign is expanding to focus on Mexico, Coca-Cola's largest per capita market, and is also considering commencing a civil action in the United States and/or a petition for relief with one of the international courts of human rights.

Per Rogers, Coca-Cola's exposure for the Mexican labor and tax fraud runs to the billions of dollars, pointing to a May 2011 report from major international law firm CORPUSIURE. That report concluded that "[i]f the accusations of fraud held against Coca-Cola [are] found to be true, the company would lose a figure ranging in the billions."

"Coca-Cola's products Sprite and Fanta may be 'poisonous', rules Nigeria Court
"High levels of benzoic acid and sunset additives in the popular soft drinks could pose a health risk to consumers when mixed with vitamin C
By Zlata Rodionova, Independent, March 29,2017

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"A high court judge in Nigeria has ruled that some popular soft drinks sold under the Coca-Cola brand could be poisonous.

"Bottles and cans of Fanta and Sprite in Nigeria may soon come with written health warnings after Justice Adedayo Oyebanji ordered the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) — the local manufacturer of the soft drinks — to place labels on the beverages to inform consumers against drinking them with vitamin C, according to a CNN report citing local sources."

"Teamsters cry foul as Coca-Cola axes eight Bronx veterans" By Ginger Adams Otis, The New York Daily News, March 29, 2017
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"Have a coke and a pink slip.

"Eight veteran workers of a Coca-Cola facility in the Bronx were laid off March 22.

"The termination's came without notice said Teamsters Local 812, which also alleged the layoffs were a breach of contract."

"Coca-Cola May Have Manipulated Research To Block Tax On Sugar," NOW 100.5, March 28, 2017
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"According to Food Beast, a series of emails from the company were uncovered that suggest the company purposefully influenced a study looking at the causes of obesity. This was all done in order to sabotage a tax on sugar in the UK...

"Cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra has decried the company's behind-the-scenes involvement in the study, saying:

"'You can see Coca-Cola pulling the strings — the studies tend to be positive for them. When the studies are independent they are not. This is the tip of the iceberg. Commercial corruption of science and medicine is endemic. Science institutions collude with industry for financial gain at the expense of public health."

"Canadian report on soda taxes" by Marion Nestle, Food Politics, March 28, 2017
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News release: Will a sugary drinks levy benefit Canadians?

Research indicates over the next 25 years a levy would save thousands of lives and contribute to $11.5 billion in health care savings.

"TORONTO — New research by the University of Waterloo commissioned by leading health organizations reveals an excise levy on companies that produce sugary drinks would go far in reducing death, disability, and health care costs. This adds to the growing body of international evidence that supports the health and economic benefits of a sugary drink levy."

"Coca-Cola's bottler determined to stifle independent unions," March 27, 2017, International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant,Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF)
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"INDONESIA — Coca-Cola's Australian-based bottler Coca-Cola Amatil is systematically violating basic rights in an effort to stamp out independent and democratic trade unions at its Indonesian operations. And Coca-Cola corporate management in the US knows the full history but has failed to remedy the abuses. "

"Is Aspartame the Silent Poisoner of the 21st Century?" by Anna Robb, Union Safety, March 6, 2017
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Killer Coke

Anna Robb

"For over 30 years one of the world's most controversial food additives has been implicated in causing severe health problems across the globe in a cumulative and silent manner akin to that of tobacco and smoking.

"In the same way as the tobacco industry knew of the health implications of smoking some 30 odd years before being forced to admit it, there are many across the world who believe the scientific evidence that aspartame is poisonous to human health has been known by the creators of the substance for many decades.

"Whilst the institutions that are supposed to protect our health, the Food Standards Agency in the UK and the European Food Standards Agency are compromised by vested interests and pressure from the food industry, scientific and independent studies on the effects of Aspartame (E951, Nutrasweet by other names) on human health are analysed in a bias and non-scientific manner in order to arrive at a pre-determined conclusion; according to many scientists working in the food safety arena.

"Anna Robb is a young woman who had an outstanding career and a bright future ahead of her as she excelled in her education in the sciences and mathematics at school, until severe health problems put an end to that."

"Exposed: Coca Cola's big 'fight back' against tackling plastic waste" by Maeve McClenaghan, Ecologist, February 2, 2017
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"A Greenpeace investigation has exposed the massive efforts of global food and drink giant Coca Cola to defeat popular proposals to require deposits on single-use plastic bottles, writes Maeve McClenaghan. In fact, deposit schemes are working fine in many countries in which the company operates — it's a simple case of corporate profit before environment, oceans and wildlife.,,

"Many of those bottles that are not recycled can end up littering our local environment, blowing into ditches, rivers and streams, and ultimately disfiguring our beaches and polluting the seas, with devastating impacts on marine wildlife.

"Coca-Cola has been lobbying against plans for a new bottle collection scheme in Scotland designed to reduce plastic waste, according to an Energydesk investigation.

"A leaked internal document from the firm reveals the company prioritised a 'fight back' against EU moves to introduce deposit return schemes (DRS).

"The schemes are designed to encourage consumers to return their drinks bottles by adding a small refundable charge at sale.

"The DRS system has been shown to raise collection rates in Germany, Sweden and Denmark and is now being considered by other countries including Scotland.

"Document reveals Coca-Cola opposes bottle return scheme
"The beverage giant focuses a 'risk matrix' against a bottle deposit scheme currently being considered by the Scottish Government"
By James Matthews, Sky News, January 26, 2017

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"Sky News has seen an internal document that exposes the extent of Coca-Cola's opposition to the introduction of a Deposit Return Scheme in the UK.

"The company report, written in March 2016, contains a 'risk matrix' which targets EU deposit systems as a subject for 'fightback'.

"It reflects Coca-Cola's assertive stance against the introduction of a DRS scheme, which is under consideration by the Scottish Government.

"Such schemes have worked effectively in a number of European countries. A cost is added to the price of a drink, but the customer can reclaim a deposit upon returning the container to a shop or collection point.

"Coca-Cola Hit With 'Tobacco-Style' Lawsuit. Who Else Is at Risk?" by Rich Duprey, Madison.com, Jan 26, 2017
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"Put down that soda! According to a lawsuit filed against Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), the carbonated drink is just as dangerous to your health as a cigarette. Well, maybe not quite, but the soda giant and the American Beverage Association (ABA) are being sued by consumer activists who say their actions are just as bad as what the tobacco giants did, and they should be similarly punished.

"While the implications for Coca-Cola and the rest of the soda industry are obviously huge should the lawsuit be successful, that risk would actually multiply exponentially because of what it would mean for the rest of the food and beverage industry. Triumphant trial lawyers likely would not just stop at soda, but would also attack other beverages they deemed unhealthy — energy drinks, anyone? — as well as processed food manufacturers, candy, ice cream, and snack makers."

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"Tamil Nadu traders not to sell Coca Cola, Pepsi from March 1: Reports
"According to data collected by Nielsen, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo control approximately 80 per cent of the soft drink market in India"
The Indian Express, January 25, 2017

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"Seeking to push Indian brands, a section of Tamil Nadu trader organisations have reportedly asked their members to stop selling popular soft drinks and mineral water made by multinational companies from March 1 including Coca Cola and Pepsi products. According to a report in The Hindu newspaper, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaipu President AM Vikramaraja was of the opinion that the trade associations will spend the entire month of February in educating the traders regarding the "evils" of these foreign brands. "They cause more harm than good to the body. Only recently, one of the brands had admitted to the fact that it was not suitable for children and that it contained certain harmful chemicals," Vikramaraja said in an interview to The Hindu."

"Coca-Cola plot to kill off bottle deposits: Leaked documents reveal evidence of 'fight back' against plans to help protect its profits" by Sean Poulter, Daily Mail, January 25, 2017
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"Coca-Cola is trying to kill off the introduction of a deposit and refund scheme on plastic bottles to protect its profits, it was claimed last night.

"Leaked documents reveal evidence of what it calls a 'fight back' against the proposal to boost recycling in Britain — even though the firm complies with such schemes in other countries...

"Yesterday, Greenpeace accused Coca-Cola of hypocrisy over the lobbying campaign, given that only last week it joined other firms to sign a pledge to tackle plastic waste."

"Coca-Cola and ABA sued over misleading science" by by Marion Nestle, Food Politics, January 5, 2017
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"The Center for Science in the Public Interest sent out a press release yesterday to announce a lawsuit filed on behalf of the nonprofit Praxis Project.

"The complaint says Coca-Cola and its trade association, the American Beverage Association (ABA), mislead the public when they trash the science linking sugary drinks to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and the like.

"It cites the August 2015 account in the New York Times of Coca-Cola's funding of the Global Energy Balance Network, which aimed to shift attention from poor diets as a cause of obesity to lack of physical exercise. Coca-Cola spent $120 million on research from 2010 to 2015 that could cast doubt on evidence linking health risks to sugary drinks."