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Coke and Pepsi banned in India for putting poison into drinks
The addictive sugary American drink, "Coca Cola", has been banned in many regions accross India, because the product is being contaminated with poisonous chemicals which the company claims are "safe".
Tests show that the amount of harmful chemicals in the mixture is actually being gradually increased. The mass media is not reporting which chemicals are involved or their effects in humans, they are simply described simply as "pesticides", and the long history of contamination now on record is allegedly not deliberate.
The corporation was recently caught releasing poisons into water supplies. Coca Cola factories have also even been selling their toxic waste to local farmers labelled as "fertilizer", poisoning food supplies and causing long-term contamination of farm land.
The "Coke" drink was named after the addictive drug, cocaine, derived from the coca plant, which was added to the original product to induce addiction in children and adults. When the drug was banned, the company replaced it with a slightly less addictive but related chemical, caffeine, extracted from coffee beans.
The Coca Cola brand is an icon of the "American dream", and it is seen by many as a symbol of the American way, including fast-food, obesity, imperialism, globalization, corporate power and capitalism.
SOURCES
BBC News, "Indian state bans Pepsi and Coke", 10 August 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4776623.stm
The Indian state of Kerala has banned the production and sale of Coca Cola and Pepsi following a report that the drinks contain harmful pesticides.
It said it was taking the step because the drinks pose a health risk. Both soft drinks manufacturers have said their products are safe.
Five other states have already announced partial bans on the drinks in schools, colleges and hospitals.
But Kerala is the first to completely ban their production and sale.
The move by the communist government in Kerala in southern India is the most severe reaction to a report released last week by an Indian non-government organisation, the Centre for Science and Environment.
It said tests carried on samples of the drinks across 12 Indian states revealed dangerously high levels of pesticides.
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BBC News, "Coca-Cola's 'toxic' India fertiliser", 25 July 2003.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3096893.stm
Waste product from a Coca-Cola plant in India which the company provides as fertiliser for local farmers contains toxic chemicals, a BBC study has found.
Dangerous levels of the known carcinogen cadmium have been found in the sludge produced from the plant in the southern state of Kerala.
The chemicals were traced in an investigation by BBC Radio 4's Face The Facts programme and prompted scientists to call for the practice to be halted immediately.
However, Vice-President of Coca-Cola in India, Sunil Gupta, denied the fertiliser posed any risk.
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BBC News, "Cola companies told to quit India", 20 January 2005.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4192569.stm
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Coca-Cola suspended operations at the plant on the orders of the state government after villagers complained of acute water shortages in the area.
They claimed the company was releasing effluent into the underground water and using too much of it, leaving little for local people.
BBC News, "Pepsi and Coke under fire again ", 2 August 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5239758.stm
An Indian non-governmental organisation says samples of Coca-Cola and Pepsi products are showing even worse levels of pesticides than in a previous study.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said their investigations revealed that the drinks contain harmful residues, posing a health risk.
A CSE report in 2003 resulted in Pepsi and Coca-Cola strenuously rejecting claims that their drinks were unsafe.
Soft drinks manufacturers have condemned the latest findings.
"Soft drinks are completely safe," the Indian Soft Drink Manufacturers Association (ISDMA) said in a statement on Wednesday.
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BBC News, "Court asks Pepsi, Coke to respond", 4 August 2006.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5244686.stm
The court has given the cola companies four weeks to respond.
Earlier, the CSE said that a new study had found high levels of pesticides in Pepsi and Coca Cola - more than 25 times the prescribed the limit.
The group said the study was carried out across the country and samples of various soft drinks were collected from 12 states.
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"The Insider" mailing list article, 10 August 2006.
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