Coca-Colanisation
We have all heard the bad effects of drinking Coca Cola, how it will rot our teeth and poison us, but then again, so will most soft-drinks, and in fact, most processed food. However, it is not just the drink itself that is getting flack at the moment, but also the actual company. Recently the Coca-Cola company has had a lot of problems in a multitude of countries over their environmental and social implications on the respective countries it is based in. They are accused of doing terrible damage to the environment and having a dodgy work policy. I even have a friend who refuses to drink any Coca-Cola product, not because it is bad for her, but because she wants to boycott the company altogether.
However, it is difficult to point fingers so quickly, because although there are a lot of issues with Coca-Cola deals, such as the current law suits in India, their policies are not all bad. Coca-Cola does support some significant causes, such as “Fighting for an AIDS free generation”; a project in collaboration with other companies like Nike, Girl and Converse. Their aim is to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child by 2015. They also are one of the biggest sports sponsors, sponsoring major events such as the FIFA world cup. It was also the first commercial sponsor of the Olympics in 1928.
As with most big commercial companies, Coca-Cola does have problems with corruption and dodgy policies but overall one of its biggest problems seems to be its connection with the United States, in modern colonisation. The idea of “Coca-Colanisation” had been brought up in many parts of the world, accusing the United States of colonising countries with big corporate companies such as Coca-Cola.