By Rick Westhead, South Asia Bureau
Toronto Star
August 16, 2010
KALA DERA, INDIA: Every day that it’s open for business, the local Coca-Cola bottling plant in this parched corner of India draws about 200,000 litres of underground water from four wells.
Coke’s annual bill for 36 million litres? Zero.
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San Francisco (July 8, 2010): Beverage companies in India, led by Coca-Cola and Pepsico, have formed an alliance to counter the growing campaigns against the beverage industry.
The Indian Beverage Association (IBA) has been formed to “create a singe point of interaction with the Indian government” and will serve as a lobbying organization modeled after the American Beverage Association (ABA), according to media reports. Read More
New York (July 2, 2010): In a major step towards holding Coca-Cola accountable for damages it has caused in India, the state government of Kerala decided on Wednesday to move forward with the formation of a tribunal that will hear and award compensation claims against the Coca-Cola company.
The Kerala state cabinet’s decision is based on the report and recommendations of a High Power Committee which released a report on March 22, 2010 holding Coca-Cola responsible for causing pollution and water depletion in Plachimada in the state of Kerala in south India.
Using the “polluter pays principle”, the High Power Committee had recommended that Coca-Cola be held liable for Indian Rupees 216 crore (US$ 48 million) for damages caused as a result of the company’s bottling operations in Plachimada. Read More
San Francisco (June 27, 2010): Three workers were killed and at least five others seriously injured at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Khurda in the state of Orissa in India on Friday.
The workers were engaged in the maintenance of a boiler in the factory which exploded.
Company officials in charge of the boiler operations were out to lunch when the explosion occurred, according to reports from local media and groups in the area. Read More
by Amit Srivastava
India Resource Center
June 4, 2010: Last month, in a bid to preempt any binding government action, sixteen food and beverage companies announced a pledge to reduce 1.5 trillion calories from their products in the US by the end of 2015 – ostensibly to fight obesity in the US.
Indeed, the growing obesity epidemic in the US has caught the attention of the White House, and Mrs. Michelle Obama in particular. Read More
Atlanta (April 21, 2010): It is only a matter of time before the Coca-Cola company will be held financially and criminally liable for their operations in water-stressed areas in India, Coca-Cola shareholders were told today at the company’s shareholder meeting in Atlanta.
“The company management is being seriously derelict in its duties by not acknowledging the real extent of the liabilities Coca-Cola has incurred and continues to incur in India,” said Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center, an international campaigning organization, at the shareholders meeting. Read More
By Paul Sonne
Wall Street Journal
April 10, 2010
Coca-Cola Co. increased its stake in the popular U.K. smoothie maker Innocent Drinks to 58%, gaining majority ownership of a British brand known for its healthy ingredients and social awareness. Read More
By Steve Edwards
food.gather.com
April 1, 2010
If you’re looking for a scapegoat in the obesity epidemic, look no further than soda. It’s the single greatest caloric source in the world, accounting for somewhere between 11 and 19 percent of all the calories consumed worldwide. It’s cheap, addictive, and readily available, which generally means that it will take some willpower to avoid. But don’t despair, as we at Beachbody® are here to help. We present: our top 10 reasons to give up soda. Drumroll please . . . Read More
Shaikh Azizur Rahman, Foreign Correspondent
The National
March 31, 2010
NEW DELHI: Shrawan Nayak’s journey home from work each day is marked by sadness and frustration. Now a day wage labourer, Mr Nayak’s route back to his house in the town of Kala Dera passes by a mineral powder factory that occupies the land where he and his father once had a 7-hectare farm. Read More
March 31, 2010
Copenhagen Post
A study has indicated that high consumption of soft drinks may be the cause of reduced sperm quality in men.
Young men who want to become fathers may want to cut their cola consumption, according to new Danish research results recently published in the American Journal of Epidemiology. Read More