(no subject)
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}
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 06:44 pm (UTC)I dunno what good it does, beyond making people around me feel guilty, which is not my intent. But I keep flashing back to an event I helped organize, years ago, with a Bolivian unionist. He kept saying that Coke is made from the blood of Bolivian peasants. So I feel like I have to do something.
And also, I tend to think that the best resistance is economic in nature—divestment, boycotts, strikes, sabotage.
I totally hear you on the watching language thing. I think that I could get published if I didn't swear so much or rely on "lol internetz!!!one!"-type gags for humour.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 06:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 06:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 06:54 pm (UTC)If my understanding is correct (insert more disclaiming mumble here), then the Coca-Cola you drink in Chicago is so detached from the Coca-Cola produced in Columbia that nothing you do in Chicago is likely to have the slightest effect. Coke, Inc in Atlanta may well want to fix the situation and be utterly powerless to do so without withdrawing entirely from the market, which, of course, is something that really doesn't occur to them as a real possibility.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 06:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 06:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:00 pm (UTC)Not like I'm a very good boycotter, though. I keep forgetting - it's just not that high on my priorities to keep in the forefront of my mind.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:12 pm (UTC)So it's not really a boycott for me -- I have a bad feeling the energy drink I'm starting to consume periodically instead of Coke may also be a Coca Cola product -- so much as a decision that Coca Cola, per se, really isn't especially good for me. The energy drink may or may not be much better for me over time, but I know that Coke, much as I enjoy it, isn't.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:21 pm (UTC)It definitley tastes better that way, and I may see if I can find a store in Richfield that has Mexi-coke. There's actually a sizeable hispanic population in Richfield, so it's not as insane as you might think...
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:40 pm (UTC)I have read about problems with coke, but every time the addiction gets me (headaches the whole caffeine dependency thing). Worst of all, I like the taste, a lot. So, I welcome all who can finally shame me into giving up Coke, an intervention anyone?
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 07:59 pm (UTC)Speaking of Vernors, it may help with your nausea. I grew up calling it sickie pop, becuase when I was sick my mother would give that to me (after blowing the bubbles out with a straw).
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:12 pm (UTC)Obviously, most matzah is made from wheat, and this is the exception -- you can use wheat to make matzah. You can't use any other grain to make matzah, nor can you consume any grain in any other context.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:12 pm (UTC)That's what editors are for.
Also, corn is a leavener? News to me... I thought things could only be leavened if they involved gluten and bubbles.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:19 pm (UTC)I was starting to wonder if someone was going to point that out.
As to the corn... I'm gonna ask the Jewish guy who's giving me lessons on kosher-for-passover.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-06 08:46 pm (UTC)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 01:47 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.
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.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 02:07 am (UTC)According to my partner, Coke is pulling similar nastiness in India as well. Another good reason not to by them...But I was interested in the comments about how difuse Coke is. I want to look into that more. Personally, I do drink Coke, occasionally, in Palestine, but not in the United States. That's my way of resolving the delimma.
And by the way, RC is on the settlement product boycott list as well. :-(
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 02:30 am (UTC)women and children in Third World countries (now called, charmingly, "underdeveloped" nations) with its baby formula scandal.
I like when they now call us "the overdeveloped world" ... to me that's more like it.
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 02:34 am (UTC)Re: Buy Locally!
Date: 2006-09-07 03:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 03:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 03:20 am (UTC)*applause*
no subject
Date: 2006-09-07 02:01 pm (UTC)My feeling about boycotts is that it may not change the world, but people engaged in certain practices do not need my money. I don't know if Dominos Pizza, Cracker Barrell restaurants or Wal-Mart feel the impact of my long-term boycotts. (Dominos goes back to high school). They have plenty of other people's money.
A good local option is Goose Island root beer, yummy and made with real cane sugar, which US sodas are not. (HFCS is hideously bad for you.)
no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 06:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-08 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 11:03 pm (UTC)wal mart is harder. they just put something into action where they give gay owned and operated businesses advantages in selling/buying from the corporation. while i hate that they have come into our town and driven the small family owned grocery store to sell out to another chain, you have to give them a slight bit of credit for at least doing that.
domino's supportedoperation rescue in the 80's and early 90's, iirc. i have the honor to say that i have not consumed domino's in at least 20 years, since i was old enough to realize what that meant. not that any of the other corporate pizza places are any better, but we do have a few family owned places here.
i think the solution to a whole lot of this is buy local. it's kinda nice for fiber arts- most places are independant bussinesses. i rarely shop at big box stores, except for target, which pays for most of keir's salary at the end of the day. we try to teach our children responsible consumerism, but it's hard in today's gimme culture. i think the best anyone can do is make responsible, informed decisions, and hope that at some level, we can encourage others to do so. do i totally avoid wal mart? no. they do have a few policies that are worth supporting. i do avoid many other big things out there. but- living where we do, it's hard. we have to drive at least 30 miles to get to a co op, but we can buy veggies and fruit from local growers all summer. our hope is to have a sustainable farm in the near future- where we can do everyhting from eggs to beef is we choose. then again, there are times it is much easier to be strict when you aren't eating meat. but that is a whole other discussion.
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 11:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 11:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 11:23 pm (UTC)