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"An Inside View To Coca Cola's Share Holders Meeting" by Tim Franzen, American Friends Service Committee, Occupy Our Homes
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In the photo from left to right are: B. Wardlaw, large Coke shareholder and supporter of Campaign to Stop Killer Coke; former Coke employee Jeffrey Wright; Tim Franzen, Occupy Our Homes, and Ian Hoffmann, Corporate Campaign, Inc.
Ray Rogers challenging Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent about racial discrimination and Cheating Workers in Mexico at the 2013 Annual Shareholders Meeting held April 24th in Atlanta, GA.
Rebecca Neubardt, Mt. Holyoke College Student and Corporate Accountability Activist Challenging CEO Muhtar Kent on the bottled water issue.
BREAKING: Out Of Order activists hi-jack Coca-Cola's Big Prize Surprise Promotion in Sydney dressed as penguins! This action was organized to address the harm done when Coca-Cola opposed container deposit legislation and sued to stop the legislation.
Video: Stop Coca-Cola trashing Australia & Killing Sea Birds
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Video: Coming Together: Translated
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When Coca-Cola released "Coming Together," a 2-minute ad addressing obesity, it was met with jeers and howls of laughter. Now that the laughter has died down, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) thought it would attempt to translate the ad's Cokespeak into plain English.
"CUNY Graduate Victim of Coca-Cola's Discriminatory Employment Practices", by Shirley Irons, Street Hype, April 1-18, 2013
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"By all accounts Yvette Butler, who worked at Coca-Cola's production plant in New York City, had an exemplary record and did her job very well. She graduated from the College of Technology at the City University of New York (CUNY) and was highly qualified for her job as a production line mechanic. She was the only female African-American mechanic in the plant.For five years,
"Ms. Butler faced racial and gender discrimination, unfair and dangerous work assignments and sexual harassment from supervisors and co-workers..."
"Coca-Cola Exporting Its Cultural Leadership to Third World" by Carol Pierson Holding, Huffington Post , March 28, 2013
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"When I was young, I took it as the gospel truth that Coca-Cola could eat the paint off of cars. Then my grammar school classmates reported that baby teeth dissolved in Coke. I learned my lesson: Drink Coke at your own peril.
"I divested my Coca-Cola stock some time ago for social responsibility reasons — Mark Bittman recounts the health dangers in his New York Timesblog — and for financial reasons..."
Ray Rogers Picks Another Battle with Coca-Cola — This Time for Racial Discrimination
15 Minutes of Fact, Jerry Ashton, March 11, 2013, wgrnradio.com
Listen to the Interview
"Unless you are a Union member or a student of Union Activism, the name Ray Rogers may not ring a bell. However, if what he has to say about alleged racial discrimination, human rights and environmental abuses perpetrated by America's Iconic brand, Coca-Cola, you will think of his name every time you hear or see one of their ubiquitous commercials.
"In today's '15 Minutes of Fact,' Ray Rogers will make some very serious allegations of racial discrimination in Coca-Cola bottling plants in the Greater New York City area along with his concerns regarding Coca-Cola's worldwide labor, human rights and environmental abuses.
"Sounds like a tough slog...for both parties..."
Dare to Speak Up about Racial Discrimination? Coca-Cola: You're Fired!
Before Yvette and Sandra were unjustly terminated from their jobs, they had three strikes against them: they are black; they are women, and they courageously spoke up against the abuses inflicted upon them while on the job in the Coca-Cola bottling plant in New York City.
Queens, New York resident Sandra Walker was suspended, but found innocent of charges that she told a supervisor, "You're a dead man," after witnesses proved she told the supervisor, You're a racist." Yet Sandra was never reimbursed for five weeks lost pay. "I complained about recurring abuses. This led to me being interrogated by persons from Coke's Human Resources Dept. in Atlanta. I was asked such irrational questions as, 'Sandra, do you have any personal friends who are HIV Positive?' Then I was terminated."
Brooklyn, New York resident Yvette Butler , in retaliation for speaking up, was unjustly fired from her job. "As a result, I lost my home and with three children had to move into a city homeless shelter for 13 months. I endured offensive racial comments and harassment on the job, as well as unfair and dangerous work assignments." Yvette still suffers from depression and anxiety from the mistreatment at the hands of supervisors, managers and co-workers.
Read more about Yvette's and Sandra's cases and that of other victims of Coke's abuses. Try to understand the pain of being a victim of racial discrimination and the unfair treatment, nightmares, panic attacks, constant stress and emotional turmoil.
See http://stopcokediscrimination.org/newsletter/update_130228.htm
Yvette Butler and Sandra Walker
"D.C. Soda Ban: New York City-Style Sugary-Drinks Restrictions Coming To The Nation's Capital?" by Will Wrigley, The Huffington Post, March 2, 2013
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"If a few candidates for the D.C. Council have their way, you'll have to run across the border into Maryland or across the river into Virginia to quench your giant soft drink thirst, according to a report by Washington City Paper.
"At a Democratic debate for the at-large council seat Thursday evening, four of the seven candidates hoping to represent the city said they would support enacting a ban on large sodas, similar to the ban enacted by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg last year."
"Vermont House panel advances soda tax" by DAVE GRAM, Associated Press, February 21, 2013
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"A Vermont House committee voted Wednesday to advance legislation calling for a penny-an-ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.
"The House Health Care Committee voted 7-2, with two members absent, for the tax bill that would raise an estimated $27 million to support state health programs. Supporters say it will also discourage consumption of products that are big contributors to obesity.
" 'We have an obesity epidemic and the scientific data is clear that sugar-sweetened beverages have a unique place in contributing to this epidemic,' said Rep. George Till, D-Jericho, a doctor and member of the Health Care Committee."
"Salt Sugar Fat: NY Times Reporter Michael Moss on How the Food Giants Hooked America on Junk Food," Democracy Now, March 1, 2013
(Michael Moss discusses Coca-Cola at about 43 minutes into the video.)
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Food companies have known for decades that salt, sugar and fat are not good for us in the quantities Americans consume them. But every year, people are swayed to ingest about twice the recommended amount of salt and fat -- and an estimated 70 pounds of sugar. We speak with New York Times reporter Michael Moss about how in his new book, "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us." In a multi-year investigation, Moss explores deep inside the laboratories where food scientists calculate the "bliss point" of sugary drinks or the "mouth feel" of fat, and use advanced technology to make it irresistible and addictive. As a result of this $1 trillion-a-year industry, one-in-three adults, and one-in-five children, are now clinically obese.
Soda: Is The Fizz Killing Us? - Facts & Infographic
http://www.mapsofworld.com/poll/soda-fizz-killing-us-facts-infographic.html
"Aspartame Pathway" by Dr. Mercola, February 29, 2013
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"... research suggests this artificial sweetener (aspartame) may be implicated in health risks ranging from cancer to seizures and even death."
"The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food" by MICHAEL MOSS, February 20, 2013, NY Times Magazine
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IV. 'These People Need a Lot of Things, but They Don't Need a Coke.'
The growing attention Americans are paying to what they put into their mouths has touched off a new scramble by the processed-food companies to address health concerns. Pressed by the Obama administration and consumers, Kraft, Nestle, Pepsi, Campbell and General Mills, among others, have begun to trim the loads of salt, sugar and fat in many products. And with consumer advocates pushing for more government intervention, Coca-Cola made headlines in January by releasing ads that promoted its bottled water and low-calorie drinks as a way to counter obesity. Predictably, the ads drew a new volley of scorn from critics who pointed to the company's continuing drive to sell sugary Coke.
One of the other executives I spoke with at length was Jeffrey Dunn, who, in 2001, at age 44, was directing more than half of Coca-Cola's $20 billion in annual sales as president and chief operating officer in both North and South America. In an effort to control as much market share as possible, Coke extended its aggressive marketing to especially poor or vulnerable areas of the U.S., like New Orleans — where people were drinking twice as much Coke as the national average — or Rome, Ga., where the per capita intake was nearly three Cokes a day. In Coke's headquarters in Atlanta, the biggest consumers were referred to as "heavy users." "The other model we use was called 'drinks and drinkers,' " Dunn said. "How many drinkers do I have? And how many drinks do they drink? If you lost one of those heavy users, if somebody just decided to stop drinking Coke, how many drinkers would you have to get, at low velocity, to make up for that heavy user? The answer is a lot. It's more efficient to get my existing users to drink more."
One of Dunn's lieutenants, Todd Putman, who worked at Coca-Cola from 1997 to 2001, said the goal became much larger than merely beating the rival brands; Coca-Cola strove to outsell every other thing people drank, including milk and water. The marketing division's efforts boiled down to one question, Putman said: "How can we drive more ounces into more bodies more often?" (In response to Putman's remarks, Coke said its goals have changed and that it now focuses on providing consumers with more low- or no-calorie products.)
In his capacity, Dunn was making frequent trips to Brazil, where the company had recently begun a push to increase consumption of Coke among the many Brazilians living in favelas. The company's strategy was to repackage Coke into smaller, more affordable 6.7-ounce bottles, just 20 cents each. Coke was not alone in seeing Brazil as a potential boon; Nestle began deploying battalions of women to travel poor neighborhoods, hawking American-style processed foods door to door. But Coke was Dunn's concern, and on one trip, as he walked through one of the impoverished areas, he had an epiphany. "A voice in my head says, 'These people need a lot of things, but they don't need a Coke.' I almost threw up."
Dunn returned to Atlanta, determined to make some changes. He didn't want to abandon the soda business, but he did want to try to steer the company into a more healthful mode, and one of the things he pushed for was to stop marketing Coke in public schools. The independent companies that bottled Coke viewed his plans as reactionary. A director of one bottler wrote a letter to Coke's chief executive and board asking for Dunn's head. "He said what I had done was the worst thing he had seen in 50 years in the business," Dunn said. "Just to placate these crazy leftist school districts who were trying to keep people from having their Coke. He said I was an embarrassment to the company, and I should be fired." In February 2004, he was.
Dunn told me that talking about Coke's business today was by no means easy and, because he continues to work in the food business, not without risk. "You really don't want them mad at you," he said. "And I don't mean that, like, I'm going to end up at the bottom of the bay. But they don't have a sense of humor when it comes to this stuff. They're a very, very aggressive company."
When I met with Dunn, he told me not just about his years at Coke but also about his new marketing venture. In April 2010, he met with three executives from Madison Dearborn Partners, a private-equity firm based in Chicago with a wide-ranging portfolio of investments. They recently hired Dunn to run one of their newest acquisitions — a food producer in the San Joaquin Valley. As they sat in the hotel's meeting room, the men listened to Dunn's marketing pitch. He talked about giving the product a personality that was bold and irreverent, conveying the idea that this was the ultimate snack food. He went into detail on how he would target a special segment of the 146 million Americans who are regular snackers — mothers, children, young professionals — people, he said, who "keep their snacking ritual fresh by trying a new food product when it catches their attention."
He explained how he would deploy strategic storytelling in the ad campaign for this snack, using a key phrase that had been developed with much calculation: "Eat 'Em Like Junk Food."
After 45 minutes, Dunn clicked off the last slide and thanked the men for coming. Madison's portfolio contained the largest Burger King franchise in the world, the Ruth's Chris Steak House chain and a processed-food maker called AdvancePierre whose lineup includes the Jamwich, a peanut-butter-and-jelly contrivance that comes frozen, crustless and embedded with four kinds of sugars.
The snack that Dunn was proposing to sell: carrots. Plain, fresh carrots. No added sugar. No creamy sauce or dips. No salt. Just baby carrots, washed, bagged, then sold into the deadly dull produce aisle.
"We act like a snack, not a vegetable," he told the investors. "We exploit the rules of junk food to fuel the baby-carrot conversation. We are pro-junk-food behavior but anti-junk-food establishment."
The investors were thinking only about sales. They had already bought one of the two biggest farm producers of baby carrots in the country, and they'd hired Dunn to run the whole operation. Now, after his pitch, they were relieved. Dunn had figured out that using the industry's own marketing ploys would work better than anything else. He drew from the bag of tricks that he mastered in his 20 years at Coca-Cola, where he learned one of the most critical rules in processed food: The selling of food matters as much as the food itself.
Later, describing his new line of work, Dunn told me he was doing penance for his Coca-Cola years. "I'm paying my karmic debt," he said.
This article is adapted from "Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us ," which will be published by Random House this month.
Michael Moss is an investigative reporter for The Times. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for his reporting on the meat industry.
"Stop Coca-Cola trashing Australia: 3 things you can do" | Greenpeace Australia Pacific
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"Why? Because the company's lawyers are taking the Northern Territory Government to court for introducing a proven and popular 'Cash for Containers' recycling scheme (also known as the Container Deposit Scheme). No, you didn't misread it: Coca-Cola is taking the NT Government to court for trying to improve its recycling system.
"Together we can build the pressure on Coca-Cola Australia and stop the company from trashing Australia..."
Mission: To convince Australian state and national governments to adopt a modern, efficient national container deposit system, to stop billions of beverage containers from going to landfill and litter each year.
Company Overview: The Boomerang Alliance represents 23 national and state-based environment groups and local government organizations across Australia, concerned about packaging and waste.
"Coroner Links Mom's Death to Coke 'Addiction'" by Katie Moisse, ABC New,| Feb. 13, 2013
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"A New Zealand coroner has linked the death of a 31-year-old woman to her Coca-Cola addiction.
"Natasha Harris died Feb. 25, 2010 from a cardiac arrhythmia, according to a 19-page coroner's report obtained by ABCNews.com. And while Harris, a mother of eight from Invercargill, New Zealand, was known to smoke heavily and skip multiple meals, coroner David Crerar concluded that the sugar and caffeine she got by drinking more than 2.6 gallons of Coca-Cola Classic per day was 'a substantial factor" in her death.' "
"Study: Diet Soda Increases the Risk of Diabetes. Why Do We Still Drink This Stuff?" by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine, February 8, 2013
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"Yet another study confirms what people have been saying for ages: Stop drinking diet soda. Like, right now. Drinking just one 12-ounce can of an artificially sweetened fizzy drink per week can increase your risk of Type 2 diabetes by 33 percent, French researchers found. And given that most people don't stop at a single weekly serving, your real risk for diabetes could actually be much higher."
Coca Cola versus France Télévisions
By James Creedon, MediaWatch, Jan. 31, 2013
Coca Cola is allegedly threatening to stop all advertising deals with France 2 over a documentary the state broadcaster ran earlier this month (January 2013)
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Although France 2 receives more than 2.3 million Euros ( more than $3.1 million) in advertising from Coke, they still had the courage to run this film, "Coca-Cola Et La Formule Secrete (Coca-Cola and the Secret Formula), that is critical of the beverage company on a number of fronts.
Some of the film was shot at the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke headquarters and highlights some of the issues on which we have been working.
Following is the film in French. We will soon post the film with English translation.
"Coca-Cola Sued Over Sugar-Laden vitaminwater" By Dale Wannen | January 25th, 2013, TriplePundit.com
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"...After all, using the word "vitamin" in front of the name [Vitamin Water] surely implies that there is some nutritional or healthy value. It must be good for you, right? Wrong! These drinks hold about as much nutrition as that piece of lint in your pocket.
"In retaliation for this misinformation, the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest, is suing Coca-Cola (Coke bought Vitamin Water for over $4 billion in 2007) on the grounds that vitaminwater labels and advertising are filled with "deceptive and unsubstantiated health claims." vitaminwater contains about 33 grams of sugar, while Two Hostess Ding Dong cake snacks have about 36 grams of sugar. Instead of taking the silent plea here Coke attorneys are defending the lawsuit by stating that 'no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitamin water was a healthy beverage.' What!?"
"NAACP Hispanic Federation Fronting for Coca-Cola and Liquid Candy," Corporate Crime Reporter, January 23, 2013
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"It doesn't take a genius to figure out why the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation came out in opposition Mayor Michael Bloomberg's ban on giant sodas and against the public health interests of their own communities...
"What wasn't mentioned in the AP report is the close ties between the NAACP and Hispanic Federation and the liquid candy industry.
"Coca-Cola is a major donor to the NAACP and their branches...
"...overweight and obesity have become commonplace throughout America, mirroring the growth of soda serving sizes over the past five decades. More than two-thirds of adults and one in three children are overweight or obese in this country...
"The Center's executive director, Michael Jacobson, told Corporate Crime Reporter that 'it is sad that disease-promoting companies can influence civic groups by giving them donations.'"
"Coke Blinks" By MARK BITTMAN, New York Times, January 22, 2013
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" ...It's hurting from decreased domestic sales and smarting from the piles of evidence that soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are not only our biggest source of calories, but also among our most harmful. So it has struck back with a two-minute video whose ostensible message is that too many calories will make you fat (true), that those in Coke are no worse than any others (false), and that we're all in this together (ridiculous)...
"There is virtual consensus that drinking too much soda is bad for you, and it's not hard to understand the evidence. I asked Rob Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, San Francisco, and the author of 'Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease,' if he'd sum it up for me. His response: 'A calorie is NOT a calorie. Different calories have different metabolic fates in the body. Those from fructose overwhelm the liver, forcing the pancreas to make more insulin and driving more energy into fat cells. And soda is nothing but a fructose delivery system.' "
"Soda is a fructose delivery system as tobacco is a nicotine delivery system. (And if it's not 'truly' addictive but only habit forming, so much the better; it'll be that much easier to get people to cut back.) That's why added sugar, especially in liquid form, is rapidly becoming the focus of savvy public health officials, scientists, physicians, journalists, parents and even politicians. And the ridiculous notion that government has no role in public health - the blind 'nanny-statism' argument, which ignores everything from seat belts to tobacco to guns - is being overwhelmed by the tide of evidence, as demonstrated by a recent poll by The New England Journal of Medicine, in which 68 percent of nearly 1,300 respondents worldwide 'favored government regulation of sugar-sweetened beverages.' "
"Coca-Cola Makes You Thin?" By Derek Beres, Huffington Post, January 22, 2013
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"You would think that half a century would be enough time for a company that brands itself as a nutritional innovator to keep up with the science, but in its new anti- commercial, "Coming Together," Coke continues avoiding the real issues of obesity ...
"There's a way to make the mayor's [NYC Mayor Bloomberg] lead even more effective: Stop purchasing products created by Coca-Cola until the company can be honest about what modern nutritional science is telling us. And yes, that includes putting down the Dasani and installing a filter onto your faucet."
"Say It Ain't So — A Can of Soda a Day Can Increase the Risk of Cancer for Men by 40 Percent?
"A new medical study poses huge questions for the future of soft drinks."
January 18, 2013
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"The important take away from our study is that habitual consumption of soft drinks may be linked to an increased risk of pancreatic cancer," Noel Mueller, University of Minnesota School of Public Health Ph.D. student and first author on Pereira's study, told AlterNet. "In response to any criticisms, I'd like to point out that our results align with a recent Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health meta-analysis of studies on this topic, including ours, which found that soft drink consumption was indeed positively associated with pancreatic cancer risk."
"Coca-Cola's sugar problem," The Guardian, word of mouth blog, Jan 18, 2013
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This week the Coca-Cola Company confessed it — possibly — has a problem with sugar, as the first stage of being 'part of the conversation' about . OK, Coke, this is what we've been talking about.
"Coca-Cola Touts Role in Fighting Obesity — and Lobbies for Giant Sodas" By Matt Brownell, AOL Daily Finance, January 15, 2013
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"At the same time Coca-Cola is boasting about its smaller cans and diet offerings, it's fighting tooth-and-nail for the right to sell drinks in giant, calorie-packed servings."
"Coca-Cola Pulls Ads From French Public Television Over Controversial Documentary
"Coca Cola is allegedly threatening to stop all advertising deals with France 2 over a documentary the state broadcaster ran earlier this month (January 2013)
Grub Street New York, Jan. 31, 2013
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"The beverage corporation has allegedly pulled all of its advertising from the state-owned France Televisions following a controversial documentary that aired on France 2, according to reports. Coca-Cola et la formule secrete apparently rubbed executives the wrong way, because its 'troublemaker' host posed questions about the safety of the soda directly to the company's chief executive in front of shareholders."
Although France 2 receives more than 2.3 million Euros ( more than $3.1 million) in advertising from Coke, they still had the courage to run this film, "Coca-Cola Et La Formule Secrete (Coca-Cola and the Secret Formula), that is critical of the beverage company on a number of fronts.
Some of the film was shot at the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke headquarters and highlights some of the issues on which we have been working.
"The Coca-Cola Company: Corporate Rap Sheet"
By Phil Mattera, Corporate Research Project
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Coca-Cola is one of the best known product names in the world, and the Coca-Cola Company has long been the leader of the international soft drink industry. Once preoccupied with its perennial market-share battle with PepsiCo, the company has had to cope with declining consumption of carbonated beverages, prompting it to branch out into juices, sports drinks and bottled water. While it has long cultivated a benign image, Coca-Cola has also been confronted with international pressure campaigns on issues ranging from labor practices in Colombia to water use in India. In the United States, the company has faced charges of racial discrimination, accusations that its marketing efforts contributed to the national problem and criticism over the environmental impact of its move into the bottled water business.
"EVERYTHING DOES NOT GO BETTER WITH COKE; The Deborah Kropp Story" from Insider Exclusive, first broadcast 2012
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"On July 20, 2007, Deborah Kropp was traveling home from helping her quadriplegic brother as she did every day...A few hundred feet from her Gainesville, Florida home, she slowed down to pull off the road at her rural mailbox, as she did every day. And that's where this tragic Coca Cola story began...Coca-Cola, which was 'under-staffed,' ...according to its own employees...relied on a warehouse worker with a 'less than stellar' driving history and several felony convictions to deliver their product on that fateful day...
" '...the Coca-Cola's truck had a loose toolbox in the passenger compartment...' that 'rocketed onto the truck's accelerator, sending the truck out of control and slamming into the rear passenger side of Deborah's Ford Mustang and it sent her airborne.
"...Coke never apologized, and yet they used unlimited resources to blame the victim, Deborah Kropp...
"...You might think that such an iconic American brand...would stand up and help the people they hurt ...but in this case they failed to do so..."
When asked about her attitude towards Coke, Ms. Kropp said:
"They are UnAmerian!"
"There is no justice when it comes to Coca-Cola."
Here's a horrific accident story from Tanzania that Coke has yet to explain: http://www.killercoke.org/crimes_tanzania.php
But in this story, 10 children were killed.
"Sodastream Ad Yanked in Britain for Angering Coca-Cola and Pepsi" by Melissa Locker, Nov. 28, 2012, TIME Newsfeed
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"The at-home carbonation product Sodastream has made a splash in the UK with their first global advertising campaign before their ads even had a chance to air. British regulatory authorities yanked an ad for the DIY soda maker deeming it to be too disparaging towards soda manufacturers like Coca Cola and Pepsi...
"According to AdAge, Sodastream was told that Clearcast's decision to pull the ad was as follows: 'The majority decided that the ad could be seen to tell people not to go to supermarkets and buy soft drinks, [and] instead help to save the environment by buying a SodaStream.' It was also told that the pitch constituted 'denigration of the bottled-drinks market.' which, according to the Financial Times, was done visually via the exploding bottles of soft drinks."
Watch onYouTube
Radio Paul's Radio Rants
Episode #22, Guest: Ray Rogers
Killer Coke vs. KillerCoke.org
November 26, 2012
Ray Rogers of killercoke.org explains how the Coca Cola Corporation not only has been rotting teeth but human rights. Both in the US and abroad Coke has been involved in some of the most egregious human rights abuses there are. Here is a list of just some of their abuses: Rape, murder, death squads, union busting, labor violations, environmental, racism and discrimination. Listen and hear about what Coke does in your name with the money you use to buy their products and learn what you can do to make real change.
Watch on YouTube
"CUNY Beverage Deal: Activists Insist that 'Coke Is Not It'" by Sarah Jaffe, The Clarion, October 2012
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"Last June 2012, the CUNY Board of Trustees voted to offer the exclusive right to sell soft drinks, bottled water and other beverages 'to a single manufacturer for the University as a whole.' Proposals will be considered for either cafeteria sales alone, or both cafeteria and vending machine sales together. The trustees pledged that a University-wide vendor will be chosen only if this would lead to 'higher revenues for each of the colleges and the Central Office' than the current system of college-level beverage contracts. Proposals are due November 1, 2012."
The article goes on the explain why Coca-Cola should NOT be the vendor.
": Cutting Out Soda Curbs Children's Weight Gain, Studies Show" by Alice Park, Sept. 22, 2012, TIME Health & Family
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"Researchers provide the strongest evidence yet that soda and other sugary drinks contribute to the epidemic in children...
"But the new research suggests that limiting children's access to sugary beverages can indeed curb weight gain: one paper found that providing children with water or diet soda as an alternative to full-sugar soft drinks can lead to meaningful drops in children's fat deposits and weight; another showed that drinking a single no-calorie drink a day, instead of a sugary one, slows weight gain, independent of other behaviors like overeating or failing to exercise. A third study finds that for people who are already genetically predisposed to , drinking sugary sodas can make their weight problem worse."
The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke, however, questions the wisdom of drinking diet soda if it contains aspartame. Other studies indicate that diet soda does NOT lead to weight loss and can lead to numerous dangerous health issues.
"California City Savors Role in Fighting 'Big Soda'" by NORIMITSU ONISHI, November 4, 2012, The New York Times
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"...city leaders are fighting on two fronts, against not only Big Oil but also Big Soda, as they like to call their foes. If voters here approve a proposal on Tuesday's ballot, Richmond will become the first city in the United States to add a tax on businesses that sell soda and other sweetened drinks, although many states already collect taxes on such drinks directly as part of anti- efforts.
"Fierce campaigning has brought in the kind of money rarely seen in a community of 104,000 people. Soda companies have funneled $2.5 million into efforts to defeat the tax, or Measure N, while supporters have raised only $69,000."
"Video satire skewers Coke's polar bears" by Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY, Oct. 9, 2012
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"This is the video that Coca-Cola doesn't want you to see.
"Its famous Polar Bears are skewered — as is the whole soft-drink industry — in an anti-sugary-drink video to be released Wednesday. Behind it: Alex Bogusky, the culturally influ
ential ad legend whose former agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, has created ads for such hot-button clients as Burger King, Domino's and, yes, Coca-Cola.
"Bogusky left the agency world in disgust two years ago. Now, he's back in a new role: taking on the cola industry along with advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest. The move comes at a time big makers of sugary drinks are being challenged by legislators and consumers from New York to California. It's all about winning the viral PR war."
THE UNHAPPY TRUTH ABOUT SODA
It wasn't so bad when soft drinks were the occasional treat.
But now sugary drinks are the number one source of calories in the American diet.
With one third of America overweight and another third obese, it's a wonder
anyone is still swallowing what the soda companies are selling.
Watch video, "The Real Bears"
In Spanish
"What's Really in Your Greek Yogurt? 5 Surprising Ways Food Companies Cheat and Mislead Consumers
"Even the most savvy shopper could be persuaded by some of these false claims."
By Lauren Kelley, AlterNet.org
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"Vitaminwater ≠ vitamins + water.
"At first glance, Vitaminwater seems like it'd be somewhat healthy-ish - it comes in unnatural colors, yes, but the name suggests that the product is basically vitamin-infused water. Right? Wrong.
"In fact, Vitaminwater is a whole lot worse for you than water; the grape flavor contains 13 grams of sugar per 8-ounce serving, and lists crystalline glucose (sugar) as the second ingredient. (However, despite widespread claims on the Internet, it is not worse for you than regular soda. Coke contains closer to 30 grams of sugar in every 8 ounces. Natural fruit juices also often contain more sugar than Vitaminwater, though those are, of course, natural sugars.)
"If you ever bought into the Vitaminwater-as-health-drink craze, don't beat yourself up. It would be easy to do with all the misleading claims Vitaminwater's parent company, Glaceau (which is now owned by Coca-Cola), puts out there. The company was recently caught claiming on its UK Web site that Vitaminwater is 'spring water with fruit juice.' The company soon backtracked, acknowledging the 'incorrect description of the brand's ingredients.'
"As the Huffington Post notes, Vitaminwater has also been targeted for falsely claiming that its products can heal the flu, among other things."
"Coca-Cola fighting union battle in Fort Worth" By BARRY SHLACHTER, Fort Worth Star Telegram
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"The Coca-Cola Co. is opening all the spigots to keep the corporate-owned Fort Worth bottling plant from becoming its only unionized facility in the South.
"If a majority of voting employees cast ballots to join Teamsters Local 997 on Wednesday, it could flag an important victory by organized labor over the soft drinks giant. Some 427 workers would be covered...
"Among other things, Coke's pro-union workers are seeking better pay, an end to what they consider favoritism in promotion and shift assignments, lower-cost health plans, better job security, time-and-a-half overtime pay, fewer temporary workers and less outsourcing. They turned to Teamsters Local 997, which represents drivers at Miller-Coors and Bimbo Bakeries."
Employee Elbert Allen and Teamsters organizer Brendan Hills stand at a plant entrance.
Photo by STAR-TELEGRAM/RODGER MALLISON
"McDonald's and Coca-Cola: An Unhealthy Alliance" by Michele Simon, Treehugger, September 11, 2012
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"This week, the New York City Board of Health is expected to approve Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to limit the size of sugary soft drinks. Motivated by rising diet-related chronic diseases (along with healthcare costs), the mayor's attempt to rein in out of control portion sizes caused quite a media firestorm. Predictably, the soda lobby has come out swinging, complete with an industry front group called, "New Yorkers for Beverage Choices."
"A better name would be, 'Soda Pushers for Continued Profits.'"
Check out the new cartoon from Scartoonees.com depicting the violence against union activists/leaders by Coca-Cola bottlers in Colombia.
"The Union"
By G.P. Rivolta
Visit the website
The Coke 16 & Campaign To Stop Killer Coke "March For Peace"
Download the flyer in .PDF
"The Coke 16 and Campaign To Stop Killer Coke were bringing awareness to the "March For Peace" participants and the Harlem community in Harlem, New York on August 25. Although there were many attempts by Coca-Cola representatives to disrupt our peaceful demonstration, they failed to do so. The march organizers, private security, and the NYPD gave us their full support, and allowed us to exercise our Constitutional right. We were also pleased with the support offered by the Harlem community and march participants who showed us much love. Thank you all."
The Coke 16
Watch on YouTube
WBAI archives for Wakeup Call Hosted by Esther Armah on WBAI Tuesday, August 14, 2012 at 6 am
A morning news magazine featuring in-depth coverage of local, national and international news, social and cultural issues and events. We bring voices and perspectives that are excluded from mainstream media. While the topics are serious and important, portions of the program are entertaining.
Will Nunez of the Coke 16 interviewed on Wakeup Call
http://justiceequality.org/sites/default/files/Will_WBAI_NYC_08_14_2012.mp3
"Coke Work Places Dubbed 'Cesspools of Racial Discrimination'" By Shirley Irons, August 1-18, 2012, Street Hype, (Page 5)
Read Article Download in .PDF
"Three Jamaicans Evon Douglas, 32, Oral Forbes, 40 and Wayne Morrison, 41, who worked at the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Elmsford, New York are making similar accusations against The Coca-Cola Company as did sixteen Black and Hispanic workers who filed a racial discrimination lawsuit in January.
"The lawsuit alleges that the Coca-Cola plants in Elmsford and in Queens, New York are "Cesspools of racial discrimination." Workers with similar grievances who work at Coke facilities in Smithtown, New York and Carlstadt, New Jersey are also fighting back against the company for horrific injustices done to them because of their color and ethnicity."
"American Beverage Association sponsors conference on in minorities?" from FoodPolitics.com, July 13, 2012
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"...a Focus on conference in Washington DC today, organized by The Root as part of its Black, Fit & Healthy initiative.
"The sponsors got my attention...the third is the American Beverage Association (ABA), the trade association for Coke, Pepsi, and other sugary drinks linked to poor diets and overweight among children and adults.
"...as documented by the Rudd Center at Yale, ABA members devote special efforts to marketing their products to Black Americans. Advertising Age notes that the soft drink industry makes no apologies for targeting minorities and considers it "smart marketing.""The Rudd study's findings:
- Soda ads made up 13% of the ads on black prime time shows, compared with 2% of ads on general prime time shows.
- Soft drinks were 13.5% of ads with non-whites (almost exclusively blacks) compared with 6.2 percent of ads with whites.
- Exposure to SSB [sugar-sweetened beverage] ads decreased over time at all ages, but the decrease was less for black than white children.
- As for outdoor advertising, Black and Latino neighborhoods had the most ads for higher calorie/low-nutrient foods, including sugary beverages...
"Want to take bets on whether any of the speakers suggests cutting down on sodas or 'don't drink your calories'?"
Read the Rudd Center report: http://www.sugarydrinkfacts.org/downloads/SugaryDrinkFACTS_Report.pdf
The Coke 16 and Campaign To Stop Killer Coke demonstration at the Dominican Day Parade.
Watch on YouTube
"Bronx Dominican Day Parade" By RVCFOTO, CNN iReport, July 29, 2012
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Photo from CNN
"Do Sports Drinks Really Work?" By David Tuller, July 30, 2012, Mother Jones
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"The BMJ's package of seven papers on sports performance products packs a collective wallop. The centerpiece is a well-reported investigation of the longstanding financial ties between the makers of Gatorade (PepsiCo), Powerade (Coca-Cola, an official Olympic sponsor), and Lucozaid (GlaxoSmithKline) with sports associations, medical groups, and academic researchers. It should come as no great surprise that the findings and recommendations that have emerged through these affiliations have tended to include alarming warnings about dehydration and electrolyte imbalance--warnings that conveniently promote the financial interests of the corporate sponsors."
"Hugo Chavez tells Venezuelans to drink juice not Coke" by Associated Press, Monday 23 July 2012
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"He [Chavez] says people should buy Uvita, a grape juice made by Corpozulia as a means of increasing the consumption of Venezuelan-made products instead of buying sugary sodas made by foreign companies."
"Coca Cola Booted From Bolivia" from Kochie's Business Builders, July 23, 2012
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"On December 21, 2012 Coca Cola will be officially banned in Bolivia. The announcement comes from Foreign Minister David Choquehuanaca, who stated that his Government is supporting the beginning of a new era free of capitalism and embracing 'the culture of life' and 'community spirit'. "
We received a message from Greenfield Community College notifying us that "all Coke products have been removed from vending machines!!"
The following "Vending Update" was included:
Vending Update:
In response to a request from several of our students to create awareness of global activism, we have entered into a new vending contract that will no longer offer Coke products in vending machines on campus. The new machines will be vending Pepsi and other misc beverage products. My goal is to offer people as many choices as possible and to let staff and students make their own consumer spending decisions. The cafeteria, will however, still offer Coke products. I expect this change to occur within the next couple of weeks.
Food Service Update:
In order to maintain our contracted food service subsidy level with Fitzvogt, we are allowing them to implement a small price increase throughout their cafeteria and catering program. Ryan and I have reviewed the price increases and feel they are modest and reasonable based on the food cost increase to them from their suppliers. These price increases will go into effect sometime next week. As soon as the catering menu's are updated, we will let you know and make them available online.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
-Karen
Karen Phillips
Comptroller
Greenfield Community College
"The Movement to Ban McDonald's, Coca-Cola From the London Olympics" by Jak Phillips, Time Moneyland , July 5, 2012
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"Junk food giants McDonald's and Coca-Cola could find themselves left at the starting blocks after the London Assembly voted to call for a ban on Olympic sponsors that produce high calorie food and beverages.
"Just over a month before London hosts the 2012 Olympics, the powerful elected body passed a motion urging the International Olympic Committee to adopt strict sponsorship criteria in a bid to outlaw advertising of products linked to child ."
"As a cancer scare erupts over a chemical in the fizzy drink ... just how safe is a can of Coke?" by DAVID DERBYSHIRE, Daily Mail, June 28, 2012
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"The chemical — 4-methylimidazole (4-MI) — helps to give the drink its colour, but is listed by Californian health officials as a potential carcinogen...
"But the changes to the recipes have raised the inevitable question: just how safe are the ingredients that go into every can of cola? And what does that brown stuff really do to our insides?
"And just because you drink sugar-free, diet cola, don't think you're off the hook. For there is a growing body of research which suggests that low-calorie and sugar-free drinks are bad for us, too. Studies have shown that people who have at least one low-calorie fizzy drink a day are at greater risk of and type 2 diabetes. And some experts also believe that sugar-free drinks confuse the brain, leaving it unable to distinguish between sweeteners, such as aspartame and saccharine, and regular sugar. In that case, a person may be tricked into overeating, as the brain can no longer calculate the body's calorific intake. So while diet colas may make you feel virtuous, they could be doing you more harm than good."
Yvette Butler, Ramon Hernandez and Ray Rogers were interviewed live on a segment of "Building Bridges" (WBAI, 99.5 fm) on June 25 with hosts Ken Nash and Mimi Rosenberg.
Listen to Interview on WBAI
"SodaStream Takes Marketing Tactic To Coca-Cola's Hometown" by Duane D. Stanford, Jun 20, 2012, Bloomberg.com
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"SodaStream (SODA) International Ltd. already told Coca-Cola (KO) Co. it wouldn't stop using Coke bottles in its marketing. Now SodaStream is taking the fight to the company's front door — or at least the park across the street from Coke's World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta...
"On June 22, SodaStream, which sells do-it-yourself soft- drink machines, plans to erect a car-sized cage at Centennial Olympic Park, filled with thousands of used soft-drink bottles and cans. The point: Buying packaged drinks clogs up landfills, while making soda at home helps save the planet.
"A similar display at a South Africa airport has drawn threats of a lawsuit by Coca-Cola, the world's largest beverage maker with a market value of about $170 billion, 228 times larger than SodaStream. The upstart uses 30 such displays around the globe to take issue with the waste created by big soda companies.
" 'No one's going to shut us up with a lawyer's letter,' SodaStream Chief Executive Officer Daniel Birnbaum said today in a telephone interview. 'Not in South Africa or anywhere.' "
"Acorralan a Coca Cola" by Alberto Barranco, El Universal, June 7, 2012
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"La sorpresa llegó hace unos dias a la asamblea de accionistas de Coca Cola Company, la matriz mundial de las firmas productoras de la bebida gaseosa, cuando uno de los accionistas Ie preguntó a quemarropa a su presidente, Muhtar Kent, sobre la existencia de una serie de demandas en México, que a su juicio podrian provocarle daiios por mil millones de dólares...
"Coca Cola, pues, está en el callejón."
Translation:
"Coca-Cola on the Ropes" by Alberto Barranco, El Universal, June 7, 2012
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"The surprise came a few days ago at The Coca-Cola Company's annual shareholders meeting, the world headquarters of the company producing the carbonated soft drink, when one of the shareholders [Ray Rogers] asked CEO Muhtar Kent point blank about the existence of a series of demands in Mexico, which he believes could cost the company a billion dollars.
"Kent denied the allegations...
"The truth is that the Chief Executive Officer of Coca Cola lied...
"The problem for the company is in the investigation triggered by the persistence of this former marketing executive [Angel Alvarado], once commissioned in Costa Rica, causing this investigation by the Tax Administration System for alleged tax evasion...
"Coca-Cola, then, has no way out."
"Former Coke exec slams marketing by soda makers" by N.C. Aizenman, The Washington Post, June 10, 2012
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"On Thursday, he [Todd Putman] came to settle it. He wanted to give an inside account of what he contends has been a drive by Coca-Cola to replace not just its direct competitors but all beverages in the American diet - a campaign for what the company called 'share of stomach.' He wanted to warn about the industry's focus on young people and minorities...
"Today that work is one of Putman's greatest regrets. Statistics consistently show that the incidence of is highest among minorities. The higher price and relative scarcity of many healthier alternatives to soda in low-income communities - as well as the lack of marketing to promote those that are available - effectively mean that low income minorities have fewer choices, Putman said. 'The game is rigged by the power of the soft drink industry and how much money they put against all the competition in that space...'
"Company research indicated that brand loyalty starts young, and once formed it is hard to break. 'I would say 90 percent of all soft drink marketing is targeted at 12- to 24-year-olds. ... It was how we spent all of our time.' "
Yvette Butler and Guillermo (Will) Nunez speak about "The Coke 16" on WBAI's City Watch, interviewed by Bill DiFazio, June 9, 2012
Listen to Interview
"Soda companies on the outside of Parks Department sponsor rights bidding" by DAVID SEIFMAN, NY Post, June 9, 2012
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"Coke isn't it for the Parks Department. The city parks agency yesterday began soliciting bids for sponsor rights to 631 basketball courts and 55 dog runs in hopes of pulling in at least $5 million a year for its operations.
"Producers of sugar-laden soft drinks like Coca-Cola aren't prohibited from bidding. But they're not being encouraged, either.
" 'Companies should be aware the city would be unlikely to do something in conflict with the public interest,' said Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Mayor Bloomberg."
Ramon Hernandez and Will Nunez of The Coke 16 on The News Dissector Radio Show with Danny Schechter May 25, 2012
This interview of Ramon Hernandez and Will Nunez of The Coke 16 is with Danny Schechter, The News Dissector. Danny is an Emmy award-winning journalist, television producer, independent filmmaker and veteran radio personality. His latest film is "Plunder: The Crime of Our Time," which is about the "unreported story of the economic crisis, which continues to haunt millions of Americans." For further information on Danny's illustrious career, go to: http://prn.fm/hosts/political-hosts/danny-schechter
The radio interview was to originally include David Alvarez and Luis Morales, but they were unable to participate because they recently found employment outside of Coca-Cola.
View on YouTube
"15 Minutes of Fact: On the Docket - Worker's Economic and Social Rights that Require OWS Attention" Hosted by Jerry Ashton, May 16, 2012
Interview with Coke 16's Sandra Walker
(Click on the podcast to hear interview.)
"Sandra Walker was one of 16 workers at two separate Coca-Cola plants who filed a lawsuit in January, 2012. The New York Daily News dubbed them the 'Coca-Cola 16' for this effort. (Sandra had previously filed an EEOC complaint on 11/23/11 against America's Iconic company)."
Dianne Mathiowetz interviews Ramon Hernandez and Guillermo (Will) Nunez of The Coke 16 May 8, 2012 .
(Listen on YouTube)
Coca-Cola-Racism.com
See website: http://www.coca-cola-racism.com
"People are suffering because of many things that you've allowed in the work place.
"Some are now fired and feeling helpless with no job, we feel betrayed, left with nothing but families who depend on us.
Coca-Cola says Putting People first, but Coke puts money first! We are People, We are Parents, We are Coke16 the new
generation."
"China shuts down Coke plant over chlorine pollution," May 1, 2012, Taipei Times
Read Article
"Authorities in northern China have ordered a Coca-Cola bottling plant shut after finding its products were contaminated by chlorine, according to a government statement."
"18-litre-a-day Coke habit left mum bedridden, 100kgs heavier," April 30, 2012, Sydney Morning Herald
Read Article
"Pauline Wyatt ended her Coca-Cola addiction by pouring all 30 bottles she had in her house down the sink...
"Mrs Wyatt's weight shot up more than 100kg in three years, tipping the scales at 198kg at her heaviest.
"She says the wake-up call came one day while drinking a glass of Coke. She felt pain shooting up her arm and through the back of her shoulder. She drove hospital for a check-up. 'I thought I was having a heart attack, but it wasn't — it was just a scare.' "
Campaign to Stop Killer Coke Director Ray Rogers confronting Coke Chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent's lies at Coke's April 25, 2012 annual meeting.
"Coca-Cola recommends stock split" by Leon Stafford, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, April 25, 2012
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"As is tradition, the atmosphere was equal parts pep rally for the beverage giant's supporters and a protest for its detractors. Protesters shouted a choreographed 'Point of order. You lie!' at least have [half] a dozen times as Kent made remarks about everything from the company's commitment to diversity (it's currently embroiled in a discrimination lawsuit in New York) or accusations of worker intimidation in Mexico."
"The Two Faces Of Coca Cola" by Tim Franzen, American Friends Service Committee, April 25, 2012
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"Although Coke spends millions of dollars every year on advertising to market their products with a positive and happy spin, a quick look inside their business practices shows that that like so many corporations, profits take precedence over ethics, morality, and justice.
"Coca Cola's crimes reach all the way across the globe. In Latin America, they have been accused of hiring paramilitary forces to torture, intimidate, and even murder union organizers in countries like Columbia and Guatemala. They profit off of child labor used in the sugar cane fields of El Salvador. In Mexico, they use their bought off pals in the government to control the market, making competition against Coke virtually non-existent. In a country where almost every citizen has access to Coca Cola products, over 12 million people in Mexico don't have access to clean water. In India, their plants contaminate and dry up the water sources, devastating farmers, towns, and the people that live in them. In China they've been known to have deplorable working conditions in their factories, and benefit off of prison labor. The list goes on and on."
"Coke drinking linked to woman's death, inquest told" by TVNZ, April 20, 2012
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"Otago-Southland coroner David Crerar did not make any preliminary findings after yesterday's inquest, however pathologist Dan Mornin said he believed Harris died of cardiac arrhythmia and it was likely she was suffering from hypokalemia (low potassium) along with caffeine toxicity, which could have contributed to her death.
"When asked by Crerar whether it was probable her consumption of Coca-Cola had caused the hypokalemia and arrhythmia, Dr Mornin said yes, along with poor nutrition and caffeine."
"Coca Cola can kill? Experts say dead New Zealand woman drank too much" by Christine Savoia, NewJerseyNewsroom.com, April 22, 2012
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"Addiction may have contributed to the tragic death of 30-year-old New Zealand mother Natasha Harris. While her partner reports that Harris did smoke about 30 cigarettes a day, experts are saying a different kind of addiction may be to blame - one involving Coca Cola.
"'She was addicted to Coke,' her partner Chris Hodgkinson said, according to the Associated Press, referring not to the drug, but the drink. 'The first thing she would do in the morning was have a drink of Coke and the last thing she would do in the day was have a drink of Coke by her bed.'"
"Occupy Atlanta Joins Forces With The Campaign To Stop Killer Coke" by sbashiri April 4, 2012
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"BREAKING: Progressive Movement Compels Coca-Cola To Pull Support From ALEC Over Voter Suppression Efforts" by Faiz Shakir on Apr 4, 2012
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"Prompted by a petition campaign by the progressive advocacy group Color of Change, Coca-Cola has pulled its support from ALEC, a right-wing corporate-funded front group which has been pushing voter restriction efforts around the country..."
In addition a boycott threat by Color of Change and the Democratic Party, the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke jumped on this issue and published two articles on ALEC and Coke's relationship in our November 14, 2011 newsletter, which was sent out to tens of thousands of subscribers, including labor unions.
"ALEC and Coca-Cola: A "Classic" Collaboration" from PRWatch, Submitted by Rebekah Wilce on October 12, 2011
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"Inside the ALEC Dating Service" By Mark Pocan, The Progressive, October 2011
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Pepsi also disassociated itself from ALEC. Pepsi's move, which actually came in January but was first reported this morning by NPR, may also have had a role in compelling Coca-Cola to drop its support for ALEC."
Mark Fiore's animated cartoon about ALEC and its connection to the Stand Your Ground laws. Notice Coca-Cola is one of those corporations supporting ALEC:
"Shoot-em-up Charlie Discovers ALEC"
Watch on YouTube
This article shows further that Coca-Cola has connections to ALEC and is not only responsible for atrocities outside the U.S., but they have to share the responsibility for the killing of Trayvon Martin and the attempt to take the vote away from minorities, seniors and students in the U.S.
"What is Coca-Cola doing behind closed doors with Koch Industries and other multinational corporations in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)? Coca-Cola Refreshments' Director of Public Affairs and Communications, Gene Rackley, represents Coke on ALEC's "Private Enterprise" Board, along with Koch Industries' Michael Morgan.":
"Lobbyists, Guns and Money" by PAUL KRUGMAN, The New York Times, March 25, 2012
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"Now, ALEC isn't single-handedly responsible for the corporatization of our political life; its influence is as much a symptom as a cause. But shining a light on ALEC and its supporters — a roster that includes many companies, from AT&T and Coca-Cola to UPS, that have so far managed to avoid being publicly associated with the hard-right agenda — is one good way to highlight what's going on. And that kind of knowledge is what we need to start taking our country back."
Credit: Created by Elodie Mra, Brazil
"ALEC and Coca-Cola: A 'Classic' Collaboration" | Center for Media and Democracy, www.prwatch.org
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"Coke's not it: 16 workers sue, call giant 'cesspool' of racial discrimination
"Say they were given lesser assignments, unfairly disciplined and retaliated against for complaining"
By John Marzulli / New York Daily News, Friday, March 16, 2012
Read Article
Sixteen black and Hispanic production workers are suing Coca-Cola, claiming they have been forced to work in a " cesspool of racial discrimination."
The suit, filed in Brooklyn Federal Court, accuses the company of relegating minorities to less favorable assignments, unfair disciplinary action and retaliation for complaining.
"Coca-Cola circles its wagons and calls (the plaintiffs) 'nuts' and 'ingrates,' " said their lawyer, Steven Morelli.
Several plaintiffs say they were subjected to racial epithets, and the people who used them went unpunished, according to the complaint.
The suits are centered on two production plants — one in Maspeth, Queens, and another in Elmsford in Westchester.
Sondra Walker said that when she was hired as a merchandiser at the Maspeth plant, she felt like she "had hit Lotto" because Coca Cola is such a prestigious company.
"I've never been called so many names as I have been at Coca-Cola," Walker told the Daily News, citing "Nappy Head" and "Aunt JaMamma" as examples.
Walker describes in the complaint an incident when a white worker wore a Confederate flag on his head and another in which a white employee complaining about cleaning a sewer allegedly said: "What am I, a n----- or something?"
"I thought this was a fair and honest company, as American as apple pie," said plaintiff Guillermo Nunez, who says he has suffered emotionally because of the treatment. "I thought I had made it. It was my American Dream."
Coca-Cola spokesman Toney Anaya said the company does not tolerate discrimination in the workplace.
"We take this matter seriously and are investigating the allegations," Anaya said in a statement.
Let's not forget that Coke also had to pay out a $192.5 million settlement for racial discrimination back in 2001.
It should also be noted that in 2010 Coke had to pay $495K in back wages, plus interest, to 95 black and hispanic job-seekers after a federal investigation showed a hiring bias against minority workers. As with this case, Coke denied any wrongdoing.
"Coca-Cola to pay $495K on discrimination claims" By theGrio, 10/08/2010
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"The second-largest bottler of Coca-Cola products in the U.S. will pay $495,000 to settle a federal case involving charges of racially discriminatory hiring practices.
"The Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, a Charlotte-based firm that is separate from the Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company, will pay the money in back wages plus interest to 95 black and Hispanic job-seekers who applied for sales positions in 2002, according to the U.S.Department of Labor."
"Aspartame's neurological side effects include blurred vision, headaches, seizures and more" by: Aurora Geib, Natural News, March 14, 2012
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"The Rumsfeld Plague: Aspartame Brings Horror (Opinion)" by: Hesh Goldstein, Natural News, August 15, 2009
Read Article
At each Coca-Cola annual shareholders' meeting, shareholders and proxies have brought up the health dangers of Coke products, including high fructose corn syrup and the massive use of sugar and artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, phosphoric acid, caramel coloring, and cans lined with Bisphenol A (BPA), as well as labor, human rights and environmental abuses.
At each meeting the Chair and CEO denies these allegations. Taking the lead from her boss, Diana Garza-Ciarlante denies any risk, "[Coke products] would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning."
Coke continues denying, but is taking this step only to avoid placing a cancer warning on its cans and bottles.
"Coke and Pepsi alter recipe to avoid cancer warning," BBC News, March 9, 2012
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"Coca-Cola and Pepsi are changing the recipes for their drinks to avoid being legally obliged to put a cancer warning label on the bottle
"The new recipe for caramel colouring in the drinks has less 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) - a chemical which California has added to its list of carcinogens...
"Coca-Cola says there is no health risk to justify the change.
"Spokeswoman Diana Garza-Ciarlante told the Associated Press news agency they wanted to ensure their products 'would not be subject to the requirement of a scientifically unfounded warning.' "
"Research Finds Cancerous Chemical in Coca-Cola" by Aabha Rathee, Wall Street Cheat Sheet, March 6, 2012
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"A watchdog group on Monday petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to ban a carcinogenic coloring compound found in most colas even as regulators insisted the threat was overstated.
"A research study conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest found traces of the chemical 4-methylimidazole in samples of various sodas belonging to Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group and Whole Foods. The chemical, found in the caramel coloring agent used in the drinks, is a known carcinogenic with effects noted in rodents."
"Consumer group finds cancer-causing chemical in colas" by Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2012
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"In a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the consumer watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest called on officials to ban the use of caramel coloring in popular soft drinks, citing a possible cancer risk.
"This isn't the first time that CSPI has targeted the food additive that gives colas, including Coke and Pepsi, their familiar brown color. The organization first petitioned the FDA on the matter in 2011, noting that 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole, which form when sugar is mixed with ammonia and sulfites to create caramel coloring, had been shown to cause lung, liver and thyroid cancer in mice and rats."
"Ex-Coca-Cola Enterprises VP charged with insider trading" by Leon Stafford, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 8, 2012
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"Steven Harrold, a former Coca-Cola Enterprises vice president, has been charged with insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
"Harrold is accused of buying company stock using his wife's brokerage account after learning that CCE had agreed to acquire Coca-Cola's bottling operations in Norway and Sweden in February 2010. The charges said he made $86,850 the next day when the deal was announced publicly and the stock price increased 30 percent."
"If Coca-Cola Doesn't Market to Kids, Why do They Sell Toys?" by Weighty Matter, March 6, 2012
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"Looking at Amazon.com's online Toys and Games category there are 719 different Coca-Cola branded toys, including dolls with packaging that clearly states they're for kids aged 3+, 100 piece puzzles aimed at the more sophisticated 5+ crowd, Barbies, stuffed animals, toy cars and more....
"...what's shameful is what seems, at least on the surface, as a bald faced lie that Coca-Cola doesn't specifically hold children squarely in their marketing cross hairs."
"Coca-Cola keeps Italian orange suppliers after protests" by Massimiliano Di Giorgio, Reuters, March 6, 2012
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"Coca-Cola gave in to pressure from Italian orange producers and said on Tuesday it would continue buying from local suppliers to produce its Fanta soda in spite of a report denouncing the tough work conditions of immigrant fruit pickers.
"The move by the U.S. soft-drink giant came after a report in British magazine The Ecologist last month shone a light on the situation of immigrant workers in the southern Calabria town of Rosarno, the scene of racial clashes two years ago...
"Some 8,000 illegal immigrants work in the southern Calabria region, which was the scene of the worst episode of racial unrest in Italy in years in early 2010. Most come from Africa and work as day labourers picking fruit and vegetables.
"Many of them live in abandoned factories with no running water or electricity and human rights groups say they are exploited by organised crime.
"Competition from other global producers of oranges such as Mexico, Brazil or the United States is also pressuring local farmers, keeping local wages as low as 25 euros ($33) a day, Alberto Callello, a local farmer, told The Ecologist.
" 'I get 7 cents per kilo for industrial oranges (used for concentrates) but need 8 cents per kilo to pay workers, so there is a paradox,' he said, according to the magazine. 'At the end of the chain is a clash with poor people.' "
It seems that Coca-Cola pays so little for the oranges that go into Fanta, that wages remain very low. Coke has to be pressured to raise the price they pay for oranges by a few pennies a kilo.
"Don't Drink Coke," Party People, Subtitles in English & Spanish by Alan Lucero (Argentina)
"News investigation Coca Cola challenged over orange harvest linked to 'exploitation and squalor'" by Andrew Wasley, February 24, 2012
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"The manufacturer of Fanta [a Coke product] is being urged to help address the poor conditions and low wages endured by some African migrant workers harvesting oranges in southern Italy." (Video accompanies article)
March 2012 Newsletter, Interfaith Council for Peace & Justice
Read Article in .PDF
"Victories and Losses in the Killer Coke campaign" by Jeff Smith (GRIID) FEBRUARY 22, 2012
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"Over the past decade there has been an international campaign to hold the Coca Cola Company accountable for its complicity in the murder of union organizers in Colombia.
"This campaign has included unions from all around the world, student groups, environmentalists and religious groups, all of which opposed Coca Cola's dismal human rights and environmental record.
"There have been some recent victories that are worth mentioning in this campaign..."
The article about the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke can be found on page 3 of the newsletter.
"Pepsi and Coca Cola accused of consumer 'fraud'" by Shane McGinley, ArabianBusiness.com, February 20, 2012
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"US drinks giants Pepsi and Coca Cola have been accused by UAE consumer protection authorities of "unacceptable fraud" by reducing the size of their cans without reducing the price and are to have some of their products removed from shelves in the emirates."
Parodies of Coca-Cola's Shameless 2007 Super Bowl Black History Ads
On Thursday, February 1, 2007, a few days preceding the Super Bowl in which two Black coaches were opposing each other, an ad appeared in The New York Times . The ad highlighted the evolution of Coke's Contour Bottle and major events in Black History, including:
- Chicago, 1893: Black doctor performs first successful heart operation;
- Harlem, 1920s: An American Renaissance;
- Brooklyn, 1947: Baseball shows us courage; it's #42
Members of our Campaign saw this as a hypocritical ad and we created a factual parody seen below:
We are re-posting this since the Super Bowl will be played on Sunday, February 5,2012
The descriptions in this written-ad parody for the most part, came from The Polaris Institute's report "Inside the Real Thing: Corporate profile on Coca-Cola Corporation."
For more information about Coke's record of racial discrimination, go to "Inside the Real Thing: Corporate profile on Coca-Cola Corporation," Report by the Polaris Institute (page 40 of the document; page 42 of the file): http://www.polarisinstitute.org/files/Coke%20profile%20August%2018.pdf
At the same time, QuietLibrary.com had the same reaction to an animated ad that Coke did on Black History: "Coca-Cola Black History Timeline" during the Super Bowl and Quiet Library created their own parody, which they posted on YouTube.com:
- See Quiet Library's video of Coca-Cola Facts
- Coca-Cola Black History Timeline
The Yale Daily News published an article on February 7 describing student reaction to the ad during the Super Bowl: "The groans in the room were nearly unanimous...one commercial was notable for a different reason. This one, the 'Coca-Cola Black History Timeline,' was more than inappropriate - it was disrespectful and misleading."
"UVM will end Coca-Cola contract, ban sale of bottled water" by Free Press Staff, January 31, 2012, Burlington Free Press
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"The end of UVM's exclusive arrangement with a major bottler comes after years of lobbying by students, who have waged campaigns urging a bottled-water ban and criticizing the Coca-Cola Corp. The 10-year contract with Coca-Cola of Northern New England permitted the company to provide all beverages in vending machines and 80 percent of the bottled drinks served in residence halls and other venues, for a total of about 1.1 million bottles annually, UVM said.
"Beginning July 1, UVM said in an announcement, Sodexo — the company that operates UVM dining services — will chose a mix of beverages through its national contracts and local connections, as will the UVM Bookstore and the CAT Pause store in the Davis Center."
"Pepsi replaces Coca-Cola at Gwinnett Arena" by Christopher Seward, January 11, 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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In April 2009 and April 2010, The Coca-Cola Co. held its annual shareholders meetings at the luxurious Gwinnett Center's Grand Ballroom in Duluth, Georgia, about 27 miles north of Atlanta. At each meeting, our Campaign had a strong presence; We were treated with respect by local police, staff and others as our Stop Killer Coke huge mobile billboard made its rounds throughout the Center's parking lot and surrounding area. This is a big deal — Pepsi has scored a major coup in Coca-Cola's backyard.
"In a coup for Pepsi, the soft drink company has grabbed pouring rights from Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. at the Gwinnett Center."
"Super-size shock: Ad campaign links soda intake with amputations; Portions have grown, and so has Type 2 diabetes, which can lead to amputations"by Reuven Blau and Kevin Deutsch, New York Daily News, January 10, 2012
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"Those super-sized sodas you're drinking could lead to an amputation, a shocking ad campaign launched by the Health Department warns...
"Nearly 57 of New Yorkers are overweight or obese and about 10 have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, the Health Department said"
The city Health Department’s controversial new ad campaign targets super-sized portions, showing an obese man who lost his right leg through amputation because of Type 2 diabetes.
"Swaziland: Critics Want Coke d'etat in the Country" by Simon Allison, 10 January 2012, Daily Maverick
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"Poor old Coca-Cola. The world's favourite drink can't do much right these days. If it's not responsible for America's epidemic, then it's causing children's teeth to rot. Or using up all of India's water while stealing Nigerian jobs. But this latest accusation goes even further, claiming Coke is responsible for propping up the authoritarian regime of an entire country - and it refuses to do anything about it."
"Coca-Cola accused of propping up notorious Swaziland dictator; Swaziland's King Mswati III accused by activists of human rights abuses and of looting national wealth", by David Smith, The Guardian, Monday 2 January 2012
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Swaziland's king, Mswati III, pictured with some of his 13 wives.
Photograph: AP
"Mary Pais Da Silva, co-ordinator of the Swaziland Democracy Campaign, called for Coca-Cola to pull out of the country immediately.
" 'Coca-Cola must know they're doing business with the wrong people,' she said. 'At the end of the day it doesn't benefit the economy in any way. Their profits don't help the average Swazi, while the king is getting richer by the day.' She added: 'The king is milking the country. This is entrenching him more and more, giving him economic strength to crush opposition. Nobody should do business with the regime in Swaziland. They should cut ties and take their business elsewhere.' "
When are these two candidates going to start elaborating, Maria Diaz?
