The Coca Cola Company has been denounced by various communities, organizations and grassroots movements for violating basic human and environmental rights.

We appeal for peaceful and non-violent action against and boycott of Coca Cola world wide.

This list of violations was put together by Carola Reintjes (IDEAS, Spain) and Sandeep Pandey (NAPM, India).

(1) HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS: Colombia Coke Bottlers, licencess of the Coca Cola Company, have been accused of the death of 8 union leaders and torture of other workers over the last five years. [1]

(2) THREAT TO PEACE: Coca Cola was the fifth largest donor to George Bush (Pepsico was fourth). It has also associated itself with some of the worst dictators including General Abacha in Nigeria.

(3) RACIAL DISCRIMINATION: The Company had to pay $192 million for being found guilty of racial discrimination in US plants in 2000. [2]

(4) DAMAGE TO ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITIES: 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. [3] This situation threatens to displace 20,000 local habitants, while at the same time the bottling plant only gives employment to 50 local people.[4] The Supreme Court of India found the Company guilty of painting the Himalaya rocks with huge publicity announcements/panels. [5]

(5) HEALTH HAZARD: Coca Cola is a health hazard. It displaces healthier drinks from the market with aerated drinks with heavy amount of sugar which increases the probability of obesity and diabetes. [6] According to Ethical Consumer, Coca-Cola products have been found to contain genetically modified organisms. [7] According to a study in Brazil Coca-Cola can cause malnutrition and vitamin deficiency in children aged 6-14 years. [8] Aspartame, a Monsanto manufactured carcinogenic toxin, is a known toxic substance which causes not only individual symptoms, but can mimic entire syndromes, such as CFIDS (chronic fatigue and immune deficiency syndrome).

(6) HAZARD TO ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH: In India Coca Cola was found to have 30 times more pesticides than the European Union standard.[9] A Indian High Court ruling requires it to mention pesticide levels on bottles. [10] Farmers find it a cheaper alternative for other pesticides in the market. [11] The sludge coming out of a Coca Cola plant destroys fields and crops in the vicinity. When BBC tested this sludge in UK it was found to have Cadmium and Lead. [12]

(7) FARCE ABOUT EMPLOYMENT AND LABOUR JUSTICE: At a bottling plant like that at Mehdiganj, Varanasi, India, Coca Cola renders 50 times more people, who make locally produced drinks, jobless than it employs. It is a drain on the local and rural economies. [14] On the other hand company's top executive is reported to earn 5.5 million US$. [15] In fact, the CEO pays himself 1317 times the average employee (including stock options)

(8) INVOLVEMENT OF CHILD LABOUR AND CONSCRIPTS: The Global March against Child Labour found child workers in the production of promotional footballs for the company in Pakistan. [16] Coca Cola has used conscripts as slave labour in its bottling plant in Russia.

(9) IILEGAL PRACTICES AND CORRUPTION: The Coca Cola Company indulges in unfair practices like bribing officials and politicians to break laws and violate norms as a business practice. It also influences media to stall stories unfavourable to it. [17]

(10) Coke and Pepsi threaten WHO over health report on sugar intake [18]

Coca Cola is a threat to sustainable production and livelihood, local economies, rural development, trade justice and democracy.

However, we do not endorse Pepsi products either. Pepsico is involved in similar unethical behaviour. CIA files that have been declassified have implicated Pepsico’s involvement in the coupe in Chile that led to the assassination of Allende, and brought Pinochet to power. [19]

There are alternatives
Traditional and local drinks from rural communities, local economy and fair trade.

[1] "Colombia Coke Bottler Faces Death Suit", Stefan Armbruster, BBC News, 04.04.03
[2] Les Echos FRA 17/11/2000
[3] CorpWatch India, Nityanand Jayaraman, 28/05-02, (http://www.corpwatchindia.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=1603)
[4] Denise Commane and Eric Toussaint, www.cadtm.org, 200
[5] BBC News, 17/07/02
[6] The Lancet, 2001, 357:505-08
[7] Ethical Consumer, 2000
[8] http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/wheels/sift/coca-cola.htm
[9] 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, and 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
[10] Ruling of Rajasthan High Court of India in October, 2004.
[11] BBC News, 17/02/02
[12] Greenpeace Research Laboratories, Univeristy of Exeter, UK, Analytical results for sample NGP03021, Sampling Date 07.07.03.
[14] The plant 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.
[15] The Ecologist, June 2003, vol.13, no. 5 (salary and complements, year 2002)
[16] Global March against Child Labour, "Report on Child Labour in Football Production in Pakistan", May 2002
[17] Bobby Ramakant (bobby@hdnet.org) 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.
[18] http://www.naturodoc.com/library/News/sugar-vs-WHO.htm, http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,940287,00.html
[19] http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3846394,00.html
http://www.d.umn.edu/~epeters5/Erik%20articles/Americas%20new%20dollar%20diplomacy.pdf

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