The book, “Sweet and Deadly: How Coca-Cola Spreads Disinformation and Makes Us Sick”, explores how Coca-Cola has deliberately misled the public about the safety of its products for decades.
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IT'S common knowledge that fizzy drinks are laden with sugar and linked to serious health risks such as diabetes and cancer.
So how does Coca-Cola, the world’s leading soft drink manufacturer, maintain its polished image?
A new exposé by author and journalist Murray Carpenter delves into this question, uncovering the unsettling strategies used by the company to protect its reputation.
His book, “Sweet and Deadly: How Coca-Cola Spreads Disinformation and Makes Us Sick”, explores how Coca-Cola has deliberately misled the public about the safety of its products for decades.
Among the tactics highlighted are the company’s financial support of groups such as the Sugar Research Foundation and the Global Energy Balance Network.
These organisations worked to manipulate public understanding of food science in favour of Coca-Cola’s interests.
The Sugar Research Foundation, which launched in 1943, became a powerful public relations tool—paving the way for similar tactics later used by the tobacco industry.
Although Coca-Cola only partially funded this foundation; however, it was the primary force behind the Global Energy Balance Network, established in 2014.
This group promoted the idea that lack of physical activity was a more significant contributor to obesity than diet, thereby downplaying the role of sugary beverages.
Coca-Cola poured millions into the nonprofit, which critics argue was merely a front to shift focus away from its sugar-heavy drinks.
Carpenter’s book offers a deep dive into these efforts and the billions of rands the company has spent to protect its profits and influence public perception.
Why is this worth highlighting? Massive corporations like Coca-Cola wield immense power. With seemingly endless resources and global reach, they can shape narratives and mask the truth from consumers.
Carpenter said in an article for Business Insider, “Coke is in the business of selling sugar water. If it tries to reduce sales of its products, it would be violating its obligations to its shareholders.”
Sugary beverages are closely linked to rising rates of diabetes—a condition further exacerbated by increasing global temperatures. Despite this, Coca-Cola continues to thrive, maintaining a positive public image while being one of the world’s largest contributors to branded plastic pollution.
Without public scrutiny, Coca-Cola has little incentive to reduce the sugar content of its products or lessen its environmental impact.
Is there any pushback against Coca-Cola’s actions? While taking on a corporation valued at over R5.6 trillion is no easy feat, some communities are speaking out.
In Chiapas, Mexico, residents are fighting back against the company’s extraction of over 1.1 million litres of water per day from a drought-stricken region. Although Coca-Cola claims it intends to replenish the water it uses, it has yet to follow through on this promise.
Environmental activists have also criticised the company for quietly scaling back its sustainability targets, even as it boasts about producing 500ml bottles from 100% recycled materials.
Consumers can push back by supporting environmentally responsible brands and choosing products with recyclable or plastic-free packaging.
Every small step helps reduce the vast tide of plastic waste choking our landfills and oceans.
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