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Sep. 6th, 2006 12:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
violachicI'm feeling enough better that I'm bored. I don't feel well enough to try to take a shower yet, and I don't have the attention span to read a book. I'm too awake to lie down. So now you all have to suffer my wrath, and endure my postings.
But I wanted to share with you all about my guilt over consuming Coca-Cola products. At CPT, organizational-wise, we try to encourage a boycott of Coca-Cola, and its products. Because of our work in Colombia, we tend to be very sensitive about the issue.
Killer Coke is the most definitive website out there regarding this issue. Basically, the workers at the plant keep trying to organize, and when they do, they turn up dead. Pretty much across the board. The deaths have been linked to paramilitary involvement (Colombia has three different major armed groups- the regular state military, paramilitaries, and guerilla groups- who erratically work with and against each other, and all working against your average Colombian citizen) in regards to the plant management. The Coca-Cola corporation could easily step in to prevent this, but they don't. Of course, most corporations discourage unionizing- it isn't in their interest, financially. Ethical corporations (often an oxymoronic phrase), however, don't go so far as to allow their union organizers to be killed in order to prevent this.
So, yeah, I definitely have strong feelings about this.
However, I have mixed feelings about boycotts. Part of me says "Oh, what can one person's stopping consuming (hey look, its a gerund!) a product do to make a difference? How can it matter?" But of course, history is full of instances where boycotts do make a difference. The instance I'm sure most of us think of first in regards to boycotts is the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott that was sparked when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white passenger on her way home from work one day. Her arrest and trial for this "crime" was a crucial turning point in the march towards Civil Rights (I say "towards" because we are obviously not there yet). The other one that comes to my mind, that may not be nearly as recognizable, was the boycott on Nestle products in the late 70s and 80s. I know about this because in my household, we actively did boycott Nestle products, and my sister and I were quite young when my mother explained to us why. It was one of our first lessons in social justice. While boycott coordinators are still fighting with Nestle to become an ethical corporation, the boycott brought enough attention to eventually stop them from fucking* over women and children in Third World countries (now called, charmingly, "underdeveloped" nations) with its baby formula scandal.
The other thing that gave me more of a mixed feeling was what I discovered in Israel/Palestine. There, RC- which is what we usually drink at the office instead odf Coke- is an Israeli company, while the Coca-Cola plant is in Palestine, employing Palestinians. Boycotting Coke products there means taking away from the very economy whose infrastructure we are there to support. Also, as far as I'm aware, there is no union organizing issues at that plant. There may be no union, which is why there is no union organizing issues. They may not want or need a union. I should probably look into that further before I go back to the country. I also would like to see if I can track down some Mecca Cola, but in my two trips over there so far, I haven't run across it.
At any rate, I feel like I should technically be not consuming Coke products. I am horrified enough at what is happening in Colombia that I feel a boycott is necessary. Its really easy to forget, though, and especially now, when Coke is something that I know can help me through nausea stuff, its hard to put it down. Also, I've not historically liked Coke. It always had a weird aftertaste for me. But there is something, probably due to meds, that has changed my taste, and it actually tastes good now. I guess I have to make a decision and stick with it.
If anyone else is interested, if this moves you, a list of all Coca-Cola brands can be found here. Unfortunately, Coke also makes Mr. Pibb, my all-time favorite soda (now that SoBe apparently doesn't make Mr. Green anymore), and Minute Maid juices. An Alternative Beverage list can be found here.
Again- feedback?
(Damn, there's a lot of HTML in this post. Here's hoping it all works right the first time.)
*I could never get a job writing for a magazine or a major blog, like CounterPunch. I couldn't watch my language long enough.
But I wanted to share with you all about my guilt over consuming Coca-Cola products. At CPT, organizational-wise, we try to encourage a boycott of Coca-Cola, and its products. Because of our work in Colombia, we tend to be very sensitive about the issue.
Killer Coke is the most definitive website out there regarding this issue. Basically, the workers at the plant keep trying to organize, and when they do, they turn up dead. Pretty much across the board. The deaths have been linked to paramilitary involvement (Colombia has three different major armed groups- the regular state military, paramilitaries, and guerilla groups- who erratically work with and against each other, and all working against your average Colombian citizen) in regards to the plant management. The Coca-Cola corporation could easily step in to prevent this, but they don't. Of course, most corporations discourage unionizing- it isn't in their interest, financially. Ethical corporations (often an oxymoronic phrase), however, don't go so far as to allow their union organizers to be killed in order to prevent this.
So, yeah, I definitely have strong feelings about this.
However, I have mixed feelings about boycotts. Part of me says "Oh, what can one person's stopping consuming (hey look, its a gerund!) a product do to make a difference? How can it matter?" But of course, history is full of instances where boycotts do make a difference. The instance I'm sure most of us think of first in regards to boycotts is the Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott that was sparked when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white passenger on her way home from work one day. Her arrest and trial for this "crime" was a crucial turning point in the march towards Civil Rights (I say "towards" because we are obviously not there yet). The other one that comes to my mind, that may not be nearly as recognizable, was the boycott on Nestle products in the late 70s and 80s. I know about this because in my household, we actively did boycott Nestle products, and my sister and I were quite young when my mother explained to us why. It was one of our first lessons in social justice. While boycott coordinators are still fighting with Nestle to become an ethical corporation, the boycott brought enough attention to eventually stop them from fucking* over women and children in Third World countries (now called, charmingly, "underdeveloped" nations) with its baby formula scandal.
The other thing that gave me more of a mixed feeling was what I discovered in Israel/Palestine. There, RC- which is what we usually drink at the office instead odf Coke- is an Israeli company, while the Coca-Cola plant is in Palestine, employing Palestinians. Boycotting Coke products there means taking away from the very economy whose infrastructure we are there to support. Also, as far as I'm aware, there is no union organizing issues at that plant. There may be no union, which is why there is no union organizing issues. They may not want or need a union. I should probably look into that further before I go back to the country. I also would like to see if I can track down some Mecca Cola, but in my two trips over there so far, I haven't run across it.
At any rate, I feel like I should technically be not consuming Coke products. I am horrified enough at what is happening in Colombia that I feel a boycott is necessary. Its really easy to forget, though, and especially now, when Coke is something that I know can help me through nausea stuff, its hard to put it down. Also, I've not historically liked Coke. It always had a weird aftertaste for me. But there is something, probably due to meds, that has changed my taste, and it actually tastes good now. I guess I have to make a decision and stick with it.
If anyone else is interested, if this moves you, a list of all Coca-Cola brands can be found here. Unfortunately, Coke also makes Mr. Pibb, my all-time favorite soda (now that SoBe apparently doesn't make Mr. Green anymore), and Minute Maid juices. An Alternative Beverage list can be found here.
Again- feedback?
(Damn, there's a lot of HTML in this post. Here's hoping it all works right the first time.)
*I could never get a job writing for a magazine or a major blog, like CounterPunch. I couldn't watch my language long enough.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Buy Locally!
Date: 2006-09-07 01:38 am (UTC)The biggest danger to us, our world, our society, in my opinion, is our complacency to just make choices like buying Pepsi over Coke (or whatever multinational brand for another multinational brand) when we should be choosing based on total environmental, cultural and sociological cost. It takes more individual effort -- and requires people to work and live as communities, not as individuals on islands unto themselves. I'm lucky that I live in a HUGE agricultural state, where every weekend we visit a farmers market with the best, freshest, most flavorful organic produce, meats, eggs and cheeses that can be found, all cheaper than the grocery store, fresher, and traveling under 100 mi to my dinner table! It's good for health, local economy, the environment and it means that we have a relationship to the farmers -- we can get the inside scoop on the apple varieties, and find out what the farmer's wife does in the off-season -- making apple butter and canning apples and pears.
The health and wellbeing of animals is not always high ranking on people's lists, but many political vegans and vegetarians are out there. They choose not to eat meat (or animal by-products) because of the impact of factory farms on the environment, as well as the horrendous conditions that animals dwell in factory farms. (However, it's interesting to me how the choices of vegans and vegetarians often lead them to supporting the huge agribusiness that is soy (ADM, hello?) as well as supporting petroleum dependence through "leather" alternatives.) There are alternatives for meat eaters, but it means choosing wisely and consciously, and knowing what brands are just the conventionally raised chicken in Kosher, Natural or Organic packaging.
Supporting local businesses, local products, and choosing sustainable, ecologically balanced and ethically produced products makes a difference in your world by giving you connection to your community -- and to the community, for your support to the whole. When you become involved in the local eco-system, you become a stakeholder, unlike when you participate in supporting these multi-national corporations.
It's much easier, in my opinion, to do this on the Left Coast. I know that co-ops and farmers markets exist in Chicago, however, and I'm sure your hippie friends might have some tips for you.
Re: Buy Locally!
Date: 2006-09-07 01:46 am (UTC)I agree that its much bigger than choosing Coke over Pepsi. Or RC. And I agree, I think it is easier on the Left Coast :-) There's ways to do it, even in the city. It does get frustrating when the alternatives can be just as bad as the big bad corporations, too. For instance, in Colombia they're trying to get people to plant these trees that produce natural oils, instead of coca plants. The government figured that this would decrease the country's dependency on oil at the same time giving coca farmers an alternative crop. Problem is, these trees (I can't offhand remember what they're called, maybe you know what I'm talking about) strip the soil of its nutrients and can totally ruin farmland in just one planting. Which is worse?
That was just a sum-up. Not trying to be expansive.
Re: Buy Locally!
Date: 2006-09-07 01:49 am (UTC)CSA's are good. There's also some small produce market ... I think in the west loop, or around wicker park, that I've heard good things about. Rogers Park has a farmers market.
I like this discussion. Why don't you move to Seattle?
Re: Buy Locally!
Date: 2006-09-07 02:04 am (UTC)This discussion is not closed.
Re: Buy Locally!
Date: 2006-09-07 03:04 am (UTC)Re: Buy Locally!
Date: 2006-09-07 01:47 am (UTC)It's kind of like American's obsession with credit and revolving debt. It's great to have all that wealth in the short term, but in the long term, it totally sucks to be in so much fucking debt.