My New Year's Resolution is to Lose my Bottle -- and Quit the Coke
By the time you read this, my head will be thump-thumping - but this is not a standard-issue New Year's Day hangover. No. My New Year's resolution is to finally give up my addiction to two liquids that are trashing the lives of some of the poorest people on earth: bottled water, and Coke. In 2009, I am determined to lose my bottle.
There's nothing more tempting than to imagine our luxuries appear fully-formed on the supermarket shelf. It seems they come from nowhere, and when we toss them away, they disappear back to nowhere. It's disconcerting to break through this haze and trace them back to their origins. How can something so ordinary and omnipresent - something we all glug down daily - be destructive? But I have finally forced myself to read two new book-length exposes of my favourite drinks.
Since I was a teenager, I have thought drinking water comes in bottles. I don't know when I stopped using the tap. I never paused to think that it costs 10,000 times more to drink from bottles, or to read the shelves full of studies showing that tap water is just as healthy and impossible to tell apart in blind tastings. But I am not alone. Globally, we spend $60bn a year on bottled water. Its sales now surpass those of beer and milk.
In her book 'Bottlemania', the investigate journalist Elizabeth Royte traces one of the great scams of our time: why are we paying a fortune for something we have running almost-free into our homes? In 1929, Charles Kettering - the director of General Motors Research - outlined one of the rules of modern consumerism: "Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied." If the customer is happy with what they've already got, where's the profits? So the bottled water industry began to promote a series of myths. They claimed tap water was filthy, when in the US and Europe it is the safest drinking water on earth. They claimed you need to drink eight glasses of water a day, based on a garbled misreading of a creaky 1940s study. They falsely promised better health and taste.
If the only people being suckered were those of us dumb enough to buy the bottled water, this would be a minor-league scandal - but look at one of the primary sources of mineral water for the developed world: Fiji. Every day, a million litres of freshwater are pumped from an acquifer beneath a rainforest on Vitu Levu and shipped as much as 10,000 miles to Europe and the US. "This water may come from 'one of the last pristine ecosystems on earth'," the adverts coo - without mentioning that it also helps to destroy it. By the time you factor in making the bottles and shipping this heavy liquid half-way round the world, every bottle of mineral water is - in effect - filled a quarter of the way up with petrol. The fizz might as well be greenhouse gases dissolving into the atmosphere.
And what of the people on the island of Fiji? While we merrily sip their water, a third of Fijians have no clean water at all. There are regular outbreaks of typhoid and dengue fever on the island, culling children and the elderly first.
The bottled water companies claim it is justifiable to take these people's water. They say they are carbon-neutral because they buy "carbon offsets." But as I've argued before, the evidence shows carbon offsets are, alas, a con - a way of salving our consciences, not the environment. Then they say they put money back into Fiji. But last July, the government of Fiji decided to introduce a tax on the bottled water being shipped off the island to pay for clean water for ordinary Fijians. The bottling companies went ballistic, and said they would shut down factories. The government gave up. The typhoid continues.
But what of my caffeine fix? I would have it running intravenously into my veins 24/7 if I could - but the comedian-activist Mark Thomas has persuaded me, in his excellent new book 'Belching Out The Devil: Global Adventures With Coca-Cola', that I have to find a different dealer to Coke.
In Carepa in North-Western Colombia, Coke has a fairly typical bottling plant. Until 1994, the workforce was unionised, and successfully bargained for the basic workplace benefits we all want: bonuses, overtime and healthcare. But the corporation wanted to cut costs - and around the same time, the armed gangs arrived. The far-right militia the AUC presents itself as "the defenders of business freedom" in Colombia - meaning they massacre trade unionists.
Soon after they showed up, Enrique Gomez Granado - one of the Coke-plant union leaders - was shot in the face on his doorstep, in front of his wife and kids. Five more union leaders were hunted down and murdered. There was, as Thomas puts it, "a campaign against the union at the Coca-Cola plant." The workers at the factory claim their plant manager would sit outside the factory with AUC paramilitaries, laughing and joking with them. Once the union was destroyed, the managers of the bottling plant promptly slashed the workers' wages: experienced workers went from earning $380 a month to $130.
At first, Coke said they weren't responsible for the behaviour of their subcontractors - even though they own a controlling share in this bottling company. Then they said "we take accusations regarding labour rights violations seriously." But in Carepa, Thomas found that "to this day, the Coca-Cola Company has not investigated the alleged links of Colombian bottling plant managers with the paramilitaries, despite a man being shot dead under their logo." Still the death-threats continue, pledging anyone "bad-mouthing the Coca-Cola Corporation... will be dealt with as they prefer: death, torture, cut into pieces, coup de grace. No more protests!"
This is not a lone horror-story. Thomas found children working for Coke contractors in El Salvador, and workers in Turkey beaten for trying to join a union. But the most striking story is from Plachimada, a village in Kerala, India. In the 1990s Coke opened a plant and began pumping half a million litres a day out of the underground acquifer. Suddenly the water in Plachimada's wells turned bad. A lab report for the BBC found it was now "so acidic it would burn up your insides. Clothes could tear in such water, food will rot, crops will wither." The village's children had to stop going to school and spend all day fetching water from far away.
As compensation, Coke's Indian subsidiary gave the local villagers their left-over industrial sludge to use as fertilizer. Incredibly, another test by the BBC found the "fertilizer" was filled with poisons. The doctors who examined it warned it could cause kidney failure or severe mental disability. Responding to this study, Sunil Gupta, Coca-Cola India's vice-president, said: "It's good for them because they are poor."
Yes, it will be annoying for me not to have my favourite drinks. But it's considerably more annoying to watch your children die of typhoid while your freshwater is being shipped off for the rich to quaff, or to be shot in the face for running a trade union. In 2009, I don't want to drink oil, or blood.
Johann Hari is a writer for the Independent newspaper. You can read more of his articles here and here.
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speaking of pricey drinks I spend too much on my vice is starbucks. I am trying to avoid them altogether, because if I am within a block from Starbucks , I will end up there. I can make terrific coffee,
everybody says so, but I like there's the best.
Health wise , sugar soda is the worst product out there... Try TAB
For the water, I recommend getting one of Camelback's new BPA-free bottles. I have one that's 16 oz --not too big, not too small, just enough for a satisfying drink of water. Plus it's got one of those bite-and-suck mouthpieces so you can take a sip while driving or on the treadmill, without unscrewing the cap and without spilling!
I don't think I'll ever give up Coke. That's my only vice as i dont really drink much, and never do drugs. man the feeling of pulling out a cold coke from the fridge, guzzling it, and letting out a monster burp cant be replaced.
Oh, when I read the headline, I thought you were talking about a real addiction.
I never understood people who buy bottled water anyway. What a waste.
I've been addicted to Diet Coke for more years than I can remember (actually, before there was Diet Coke, I was addicted to Tab) and have tried to stop drinking it numerous times, but have always given in to the craving. I'm trying again, now. More than 25 years ago, when I quit smoking, I just quit; nothing to it. When I was once on fairly large doses of morphine for pain, I tossed the leftover pills as soon as the pain was gone. When it comes to alcohol, I can take it or leave it. But Diet Coke has me completely hooked. Wish me luck as I try one more time to quit!
I am in exactly the same boat as you:
Alcohol = never really been bothered about it
Drugs = no need as I get a natural high out of life
Coffee = ugh, no way
Tea = green or mint only
Cherry Diet Coke = oh dear ......
I broke my collar bone (snowboarding of course) pretty badly a few years ago and was given pain killers that would numb a horse, but never took a single one. The pain was my friend because the bone was always in the right position to set (any other position was agony) and as a result, healed perfectly.
Cherry Diet Coke though ..........
Are you sure that you are not me? I forgot to mention my dislike of coffee, and that I only like a few kinds of tea, and that I too am high on life. And yes, Cherry Diet Coke is truly the nectar of the gods!
I've tried before to kick it cold turkey, and felt physically ill. This time I'm trying to taper off. I did fairly well yesterday----had only four 12-oz cans, fewer than my usual six or eight cans. So far today, have only had my breakfast Coke.
I've read what you posted before, various articles and whatnot, and bottled water will/can be easily eradicated from my home.
I just don't know how to give up diet Coke.
As far as the union discrimination of the Coke plants, isn't that happening in every overseas manufacturing plants that are american owned and operated? Clothing for one and the sweatshops in Asia.
All of it is corrupt.
What is to be done about it?
Everything we see, touch, feel on a daily basis was from China in far worse conditions than what you described about Coke.
Congratulations. These are probably among the most important things you can personally do to affect the world economy and well-being. As a side benefit, you will be healthier and richer yourself. We did the same last year and after the first 1-2 weeks did not miss it at all.
I have decided to eliminate as much debt as I can from my life. That means giving up our automobile and our attempts to gain a college education. We will also resolve to close out all of our accounts accounts, stop seeking health care when sick and plan to stop utilizing social services of any kind at some point this year. My family does not want to be a part of the problem.
We are also planning on giving up telephone, internet and electricity as soon as we get a backup system in place.
Don't stop now. You seem to be amusing yourself terribly..
Good for you. Go to Academy. Buy the Inzone squeeze bottle $1.99 (no spills,no leaks). Fill 'er up with good old tap water and never let it leave your side.
Re: tap water being best; in many cities the pipes make a difference in quality of water. I have had tap water all my life. When I recently moved to NYC I found the water in the building green, with higher lead and copper content. NYC water at its source is best in the country but by the time it got to my kitchen tap, it tasted nasty. Having tried PUR, Brita which were terrible, leaked, got clogged in less than a month. For a few months I was forced to buy bottled water since the tap water was giving me intestinal problems. I have since found Clear 2O filter works much better, filters faster, clogs less. I drink over 3 liters of water a day and am thrilled with Clear 2O.
As far as the need for other drinks, I have never understood the appeal or necessity of the crap marketed to us. I do not drink alcohol, coffee or any sodas and I look years younger; and I also am a serious weight lifter. So congrats on your resolution, your body will thank you for it.
You could try and use natural flavor for your water by adding lemon, mint, cucumber, raspberry slices etc. Artificial flavor like sugar free Crystal light with almost 0 calories might help. Natural flavoring of water helped many of my friends who wanted something sweet and did not like plain water at first.
Have a healthy, happy 2009!
My New Year's resolution is to give up Coke but after reading your post I am going to add giving up bottled water. Thank you for the information.
Bravo on the bottled water:
1) bad for the environment
2) bad for you (benzene and other carcinogens found in various brands from time to time - and chemicals leaching into the water from the plastic bottles may be carcinogenic in every brand
3) bad for the people who need the water - there are even places in Vermont where wells have gone bad because of bottling plants drawing from the aquifer;
4) bad for using petroleum products for plastic bottles
5) bad for landfills.
Coca-cola, on the other hand, is very popular in less-developed parts of the world:
1) good for cheap calories (which we all need, in addition to vitamins and minerals and good stuff)
2) good for a bacteria-free source of fluids.
3) [unproven, but possibly true] since nothing lives in coca-cola, it may help to destroy bacteria taken in with food.
Not everything that is "popular" is good.
very interesting points about coke.
Evian (water) is naive spelled backwards. Whoever named it laughed all the way to the bank.
Love it!
I've had a similar realization; but for different reasons (unfortunately, not for any noble endeavor as "for the environment" or "against corporate bureaucracy").
My reasons for abstaining from bottled water and colas are simple: money and health..!
I refuse to pay for something that is free (or should be free). If I want water I can get it freely from the tap. If I want cleaner water, I can install a primitive water filtration system directly to the faucets (ie. Brita). [similarly, I avoid gas stations that provide air pumps which you must pay for and go to the "Free Air" locations]
As to the colas, I have cut back to one 2-liter of diet cola every other day from two to three 2-liters every day (I'm still not completely weaned off it). Switching to diet cola saves about 100 calories per serving (my waist thanks me).
These simple steps save money in the long run (IMHO). I'm NOT continually paying for bottled water and have cut back on "beverage expenses". [as a side-note, I feel sorry for those people who feel the continual need to buy their coffee or buy their cigarettes]
On the flip-side, filtered tap water does not remove ALL impurities; and diet colas are still not the healthiest choice. Unfortunately a vast number of drink alternatives come with "high fructose corn syrup" -- something which I'm trying to avoid in my diet.
What's a person to do..?
Diet cola are worse for your body than regular colas. The best soft drinks to consume should not have Chemicals (Diet) or Engineering (High Fructose Corn Syrup) HFCS is not sugar, sugar is a natural substance when tanken in moderation is not bad for you. That Diet stuff will kill you.
speaking of high fructose corn syrup, have u seen the commercials they're running lately? trying to pawn it off as good for you in moderation. like amercians know what moderation means!
Cola is bad for you, your heart does not like carbonation and the caffeine is bad for your heart as well. Even if it weren't bad for you, the point in the post is that poor people die bottling coke if they want to make a somewhat decent living. Enjoying a beverage when people are suffering to bring it to you is unconscionable and one thing that really bothers me about many of my American brothers and sisters. Coke is an American product and it should be made and bottled in the USA. Am I right?
Thanks for your replies Lakat and UnknownSoldier.
It seems like I, like many Americans, are in bit of a bind as to what is available for
consumption in regards to price and/or health (so much for "freedom of choice", huh?).
- taking the road of consuming diet colas (cafeeine free? no calories?), you're still
consuming "X" amount of chemicals -- which is not healthy. Not to mention the excess amount of Sodium being consmed with each serving.
- taking the road of consuming fruit juices, you have to ensure they're 100% fruit juice (no additives or HFCS). Many of these juices also come with a high sugar content.
- taking the road of consuming vegetable drinks, you have to watch for additives / preservatives AND the excess amount of Sodium being consumed with each serving (like V8).
- taking the road of consuming milk also has considerations [pasteurized / homogenized / additives / butterfat / hormones]. I switched from whole milk to 1% to cut fat (and get more protein) as a first step.
There are healthier alternatives; but they have ALL been more expensive to purchase. It's less expensive to just get a 2-liter of cola then to get an appropriately sized "healthy" drink..!
I'm not experiencing all the culinary delights that life has to offer, if all I'm able to "safely" drink is water (how boring).
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