The Cola giants are under fire around the world for unethical corporate practices. Community groups are increasingly demanding that Coke and Pepsi stop externalizing their costs and exploiting communities.

A partial list of unethical practices by the Cola giants includes:

(1) Coca Cola involved in assassination of over 8 union leaders and torture of other workers at company�s plants in Colombia over the last five years[1]. Its saga of unjust labour practices transcends commonly held human values. The Global March against Child Labour found child workers in the production of promotional footballs for the company in Pakistan[2].

(2) Coca Cola had to pay $190 million for racial discrimination of its black workers in the USA in 2000[3].

(3) Coca Cola is a major threat to precious ground water resources which common people use for drinking and irrigation purposes. In Plachimada, Kerala, India water has dried up in a radius of 3 km from the plant site[4]. This situation threatens to displace 20,000 local habitants, while at the same time the bottling plant only gives employment to 50 local people[5]. Community groups in Mehdiganj, Kaladera, and Gangaikondan in India are also protesting dropping water levels owing to the companies activities.

(4) Pepsico and Coca Cola have lobbied with the Congress to cut US funds to WHO[6] after its report on the health effects of high sugar diets.

(5) In India Coca Cola and Pepsi beverages were found to have 30 times more pesticides than the European Union standard[7]. A High Court ruling (backed by a Cupreme Court verdict) requires these companies to mention pesticide levels on bottles[8].

(6) The sludge coming out of Coca Cola plant has been dumped in neighboring communities in Plachimada, Kerala. BBC found this sludge to contain hazardous toxins including Cadmium and Lead[9].

(7) In Africa Coca Cola did not provide relevant education and treatment on AIDS to its 100,000 employees until a public outcry in 2003[10].

(8) Coca Cola renders 50 times more people, who make locally produced drinks, jobless than it employs[11]. Dropping water levels and increasing toxicity in the water have affected agrarian livelihoods. It is a drain on the local and rural economies.

(9) Coca Cola has been guilty of tax evasion in various countries[12].

(10)Coca Cola influences media to stall stories unfavorable to it[13].

A number of Universities including New York University, University of Michigan, and McMaster University have canceled their contracts with Coca Cola because they believe evidence shows that Coca Cola is involved in unethical practices.

While Cola companies reserve the right to make profits ethically, they externalize costs of production on to local and global communities which is exploitative and unethical. We oppose this. They externalize their costs through unfair wages and work conditions, through dumping of hazardous wastes on local environments and through withdrawal of millions of liters of water everyday, affecting health and livelihoods of local communities. There can be no recompense for losing access to water or ill health owing to exposure to toxins.

These practices of the Cola companies are unjust and exploitative on a global scale. We believe that in the globalized world, communities must act globally to end such practices.

We demand the Coca Cola and Pepsico stop production of their products till such time that they make products without exploitative methods and without externalizing the costs of production.

Until such a time, as members of a global community, we hold these companies responsible for their actions. As consumers, we boycott their products and call upon other community groups to do so as well.

Related Links
Anti Coke Padayatra in Andhra Pradesh
Communities in Ballia, Kaladera want Coke Out
Economics of Externalities
Superstars Make Money Endorsing Exploiters of Communities

References
[1] "Colombia Coke Bottler Faces Death Suit", Stefan Armbruster, BBC News, 04.04.03
[2] Global March against Child Labour, "Report on Child Labour in Football Production in Pakistan", May 2002
[3] Les Echos FRA 17/11/2000; May 1 2000, San Francisco Bay Guardian, http://www.commondreams.org/views/050100-108.htm; http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2000/11/17/11540.htm
[4] CorpWatch India, Nityanand Jayaraman, 28/05-02, http://www.corpwatchindia.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=1603
[5] Denise Commane and Eric Toussaint, www.cadtm.org, 11th March, 2004
[6] The Guardian, April 21, 2003, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,940287,00.html
[7] Report of the Joint Committee on Pesticide Residues in and Safety Standards for Soft Drinks, Fruit Juices and other Beverages of Indian Parliament, January 27, 2004, the Center for Science and Environment, India and Pesticide Action Network/PAN (http://www.pesticideinfo.org), including extremely dangerous pesticides such as DDT and Lindane
[8] http://www.rediff.com/money/2004/dec/06cola.htm
[9] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3096893.stm
[10] http://www.treat-your-workers.org/, http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/1017-02.htm, http://edition.cnn.com/BUSINESS/programs/yourbusiness/stories2001/coke.aids/,
[11] The plant in Mehdiganj, India produces 250,000 litres of Coca Cola in a day and employs about 500 people. Assuming one person could produce and sell 100 litres of a local drink per day, 25,000 will be employed.
[12] http://www.indiaresource.org/news/2004/1016.html, http://www.indiaresource.org/news/2005/1071.html, http://www.thesouthasian.org/archives/2005/who_does_the_government_serve.html
[13] Bobby Ramakant (bobbyAThdnetDOTorg) was requested by South Africa Broadcasting Corporation not to mention Coca-Cola by name when he was being interviewed about human rights violations of protestors outside Coca Cola plant in Varanasi, India in November, 2004.