The Coke Machine

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Not sure if Pepsi is any better…

The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World's Favorite Soft Drink
By Blanding, Michael

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Blanding takes readers deep inside the Coca-Cola Company and its international franchises to reveal how it became the top brand in the world, and just how far the company will go to stay there.

The truth comes out: Things do not go better with Coke

Review by Henry L. Carrigan Jr

In one of the world's most famous television commercials, hundreds of teenagers of diverse backgrounds dance and sway on a sunny hillside as they belt out a ballad about teaching the world to sing in peace and harmony. Each young person is holding a bottle of Coke, the "real thing," promising in his or her earnest way that if only everyone in the world would drink Coke, violence would cease and peace would prevail. Ever since 1886, when John Pemberton stumbled upon the secret formula for the soft drink that would become known as Coca-Cola, the company that eventually grew out of his success has obscured the shady medicinal origins of the drink and zealously designed ads that focus not on its ingredients but on what the customer thinks it represents. Coke has spent billions of dollars to present an image of wholesomeness and harmony cherished by millions of people around the world.

Yet, as award-winning magazine writer Michael Blanding points out in his provocative and far-reaching investigative book, The Coke Machine, all is not well in the House of Coke. The pristine images of peace and harmony promoted by the company have been shattered by accusations that the company has depleted water supplies in India, made schoolchildren fat in the U.S., supported murder as it sought to destroy unions in Guatemala and deceived consumers around the world by marketing tap water as purified water under its Dasani brand. For example, in the Kerala region in India, Coke not only used up fresh water supplies in its production process, it also produced solid waste that it distributed to local farmers as fertilizer. When the fields treated by this fertilizer began to lie fallow, and when farm animals that drank water polluted by this waste began to die, Indian scientists discovered that Coke's solid waste contained four times the tolerable limit of cadmium, which can cause prostate and kidney cancer.

In shocking detail, Blanding uncovers Coke's numerous transgressions against humanity and nature. Although many groups have protested Coke's presence in their countries and various legal actions have been brought against Coke, the company has managed to slither out of the grip of any legal injunctions. It's very unlikely that Coke will ever change its practices until its bottom line is threatened by binding legal consequences and there is a sustained public campaign that threatens its brand images. Blanding's thoroughly detailed, stimulating and challenging study will have many readers saying, "Give me a Pepsi."

© 2010, All rights reserved, BookPage

Publisher Comments

"The Coke Machine" takes readers deep inside the Coca-Cola Company and its international franchisees to reveal how they became the number one brand in the world, and just how far they'll go to stay there.
Ever since its "I'd like to teach the world to sing" commercials from the 1970s, Coca-Cola has billed itself as the world's beverage, uniting all colors and cultures in a mutual love of its caramel-sweet sugar water. The formula has worked incredibly well-making it one of the most profitable companies on the planet and "Coca-Cola" the world's second- most recognized word after "hello." However, as the company expands its reach into both domestic and foreign markets, an increasing number of the world's citizens are finding the taste of Coke more bitter than sweet.
Journalist Michael Blanding's "The Coke Machine" probes shocking accusations about the company's global impact, including:
a Coca-Cola's history of winning at any cost, even if it meant that its franchisees were making deals with the Nazis and Guatemalan paramilitary squads
a How Coke has harmed children's health and contributed to an obesity epidemic through exclusive soda contracts in schools
a The horrific environmental impact of Coke bottling plants in India and Mexico, where water supplies have been decimated while toxic pollution has escalated
a That Coke bottlers stand accused of conspiring with paramilitaries to threaten, kidnap, and murder union leaders in their bottling plants in Colombia
A disturbing portrait drawn from an award-winning journalist's daring, in-depth research, "The Coke Machine" is the first comprehensive probe of the company and its secret formula for greed.
COKE is a registered trademark of The Coca-Cola Company.
This book is not authorized by or endorsed by The Coca-Cola Company.