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A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

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Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#81

Post by panarky »

hackermailman wrote: post #78
panarky wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coke is huge in this part of Chiapas, especially in indigenous areas. I was there last spring, and my guide said Coca-Cola bribed the village curanderos (spiritual healers) to increase the consumption of Coke, so they incorporated it into religious rituals [0]. The water isn't safe to drink, and Coke can be cheaper than milk or formula, so many moms feed their babies Coke instead [1]. The point is, when the megacorp…

In that article it was locals who got the witch doctor frauds to switch from bootleg alcohol to cola in their cermonies, so no direct link from that plant to them. It's local middlemen screwing over their own people and those criminal "healers" who now make more money from patients because it's easier and cheaper to obtain sodas than it is to make and sell alcohol. For sure a bad situation but if sodas weren't around…

Organized crime networks also like to hide behind shell companies, contractors and legitimate businesses.

Investigators use the concept of cui bono to figure out who is ultimately responsible.

Who benefits?

Just because local distributors are doing the bribing doesn't insulate the megacorp from moral culpability for their actions.

By the way, the bribes often aren't in cash, they're free cases of Coke.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#82

Post by seanalltogether »

3pt14159 wrote: post #39

Water is a tricky thing. Take almonds for example. One almond takes about 4 liters of water to produce. With 1.6 billion pounds of almonds grown per year we're looking at almost 2.5 trillion liters of water. This is just one nut. Pistachios and walnuts use similar amounts of water, so do other things we eat like broccoli. I blame Coca-Cola and their ilk for the obesity epidemic, but water shortages are more caused by…

Last time this topic came up, someone mentioned working in a cheese processing plant that used at least 4x as much water as a typical bottling factory. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that paper mills, steel mills, etc also use way more.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#83

Post by ghostbrainalpha »

panarky wrote: post #51
wyc wrote: post #34

> ...the company has permits for two wells to extract a total of 499,918 cubic meters of water per year, or 499.9 million liters. In 2016, the company extracted 78.8 percent of the permitted total. So the government gave Coke the permits, Coke used under 80% of the agreed amount, and now it's a crisis? It has the markings of some severe utilities planning blunder. > "The city has been growing significantly since the…

Coke is huge in this part of Chiapas, especially in indigenous areas. I was there last spring, and my guide said Coca-Cola bribed the village curanderos (spiritual healers) to increase the consumption of Coke, so they incorporated it into religious rituals [0]. The water isn't safe to drink, and Coke can be cheaper than milk or formula, so many moms feed their babies Coke instead [1]. The point is, when the megacorp…

What kind of extra profits do you think Coke brings in from the excess consumption from religious rituals of Spiritual Healers?

Lets say Chiapas (3.4 million people) has (10% population of Spiritual Healers) = 340,000 Spiritual Leaders.

Each spiritual leader will now purchase a 1 Liter coke for a religious ceremony EVERY DAY that they otherwise would not have. Coke costs .73 pesos per liter in Chiapas. 340,000 x .73 Pesos = 248,200 Pesos per day.

248,200 Pesos coverts to $13,992.88 USD per day.

$13,992.88 x 365 (days in a year) = $5,107,401.20 USD Total extra coke consumption.

So Coke is now possibly selling 5 million USD more dollars per year of coke with this scheme. You must subtract the cost of making coke which we do not know, and the cost of the "bribes", to find Coke's total profit here.

But as someone involved in marketing the potential downside of this scandal doesn't seem worth the extra 5 million in sales from Coke used during religious rituals in Chiapas.

It seems more likely to me that if mothers are feeding their babies Coke instead of the expensive milk, or contaminated water, that the Spiritual Healers are making the same decision as everyone else. That Coke is the safest, most cost effective and pleasant drink available.

Full Disclosure: I am drinking my morning Diet Dr. Pepper as I type this.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#84

Post by mcguire »

Alex3917 wrote: post #44
3pt14159 wrote: post #39

Water is a tricky thing. Take almonds for example. One almond takes about 4 liters of water to produce. With 1.6 billion pounds of almonds grown per year we're looking at almost 2.5 trillion liters of water. This is just one nut. Pistachios and walnuts use similar amounts of water, so do other things we eat like broccoli. I blame Coca-Cola and their ilk for the obesity epidemic, but water shortages are more caused by…

> Pistachios and walnuts use similar amounts of water, so do other things we eat like broccoli. What does this really mean though? In New England we have Walnut trees growing everywhere, and no one is watering them. If anything they're locking water into the soil that would otherwise just evaporate.

Not on commercial scales. According to the wiki, California's Central valley produces 99% of the commercial crop and the US is the largest exporter and second largest producer.

Also, those trees aren't locking water anywhere. They are probably releasing the same amount per tree to evaporation.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#85

Post by mcguire »

conanbatt wrote: post #42
3pt14159 wrote: post #39

Water is a tricky thing. Take almonds for example. One almond takes about 4 liters of water to produce. With 1.6 billion pounds of almonds grown per year we're looking at almost 2.5 trillion liters of water. This is just one nut. Pistachios and walnuts use similar amounts of water, so do other things we eat like broccoli. I blame Coca-Cola and their ilk for the obesity epidemic, but water shortages are more caused by…

Are the 4 liters of water being shot out to space?

Commercial desalination is quite expensive. Natural desalination is quite slow and mostly inconvenient.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#86

Post by jlebrech »

bpicolo wrote: post #40
3pt14159 wrote: post #39

Water is a tricky thing. Take almonds for example. One almond takes about 4 liters of water to produce. With 1.6 billion pounds of almonds grown per year we're looking at almost 2.5 trillion liters of water. This is just one nut. Pistachios and walnuts use similar amounts of water, so do other things we eat like broccoli. I blame Coca-Cola and their ilk for the obesity epidemic, but water shortages are more caused by…

> One almond takes about 4 liters of water to produce How long does it take for that water to re-enter the ecosystem in a usable way? Water isn't just destroyed, yeah? Water planning is definitely worthwhile, but seems there are a few other variables in play.

1KG of beef uses 3X as much.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#87

Post by legitster »

panarky wrote: post #51
wyc wrote: post #34

> ...the company has permits for two wells to extract a total of 499,918 cubic meters of water per year, or 499.9 million liters. In 2016, the company extracted 78.8 percent of the permitted total. So the government gave Coke the permits, Coke used under 80% of the agreed amount, and now it's a crisis? It has the markings of some severe utilities planning blunder. > "The city has been growing significantly since the…

Coke is huge in this part of Chiapas, especially in indigenous areas. I was there last spring, and my guide said Coca-Cola bribed the village curanderos (spiritual healers) to increase the consumption of Coke, so they incorporated it into religious rituals [0]. The water isn't safe to drink, and Coke can be cheaper than milk or formula, so many moms feed their babies Coke instead [1]. The point is, when the megacorp…

[0] Photo is specifically from Iglesia de San Juan: http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/iglesia-de-san-juan-chamu... Apparently, Coca Cola is a choice to use alongside alcohol. I can't find mention of other places doing it.

[1] If the water is unsafe to drink, why would they not just boil it? That's how the vast majority of the world makes their water potable (especially tea).

I'm not saying Coca-Cola is free from wrongdoing, but the evidence of malice is very apocryphal. In my experiences in the third world, Coca-Cola was the only soft drink available, and people genuinely seemed to just really like soft drinks.

Heck, we have trouble getting Americans to drink water over soft drinks.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#88

Post by zackmorris »

3pt14159 wrote: post #39

Water is a tricky thing. Take almonds for example. One almond takes about 4 liters of water to produce. With 1.6 billion pounds of almonds grown per year we're looking at almost 2.5 trillion liters of water. This is just one nut. Pistachios and walnuts use similar amounts of water, so do other things we eat like broccoli. I blame Coca-Cola and their ilk for the obesity epidemic, but water shortages are more caused by…

Same with palm oil. Vast swaths of rainforest are being cleared for palm trees, damaging watersheds and endangering countless species.

As a general rule, it's best to get your macronutrients from sustainable sources. In other words, eat peanuts instead of almonds, and eat olives instead of palm or coconut oil (unless you have allergies or other health issue preventing that). Avoid the high-labor, resource-intensive fad foods.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#89

Post by Spooky23 »

ghostbrainalpha wrote: post #83
panarky wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coke is huge in this part of Chiapas, especially in indigenous areas. I was there last spring, and my guide said Coca-Cola bribed the village curanderos (spiritual healers) to increase the consumption of Coke, so they incorporated it into religious rituals [0]. The water isn't safe to drink, and Coke can be cheaper than milk or formula, so many moms feed their babies Coke instead [1]. The point is, when the megacorp…

What kind of extra profits do you think Coke brings in from the excess consumption from religious rituals of Spiritual Healers? Lets say Chiapas (3.4 million people) has (10% population of Spiritual Healers) = 340,000 Spiritual Leaders. Each spiritual leader will now purchase a 1 Liter coke for a religious ceremony EVERY DAY that they otherwise would not have. Coke costs .73 pesos per liter in Chiapas. 340,000 x .73…

Coca Cola has always a parasitic brand that attaches to things to sell product. You are forgetting about the implicit religious endorsement of the spiritual healer using Coke. That endorsement neutralizes negative factors. It's a sugary drink, but it must be good if it is part of religious ritual!

The high level process is: Create need (subvert the healers' credibility), make the product indispensable (attach to healing ritual), link to outcome and provide a sample (feeling better = Coke)

Most infamously, Nestle used techniques like this to sell powdered baby formula in third world countries -- a practice that literally killed thousands of children in the process. In the United States, Coke is co-branded with lots of other things that people like: McDonald's, Movies, Christmas (Santa = Coke), etc. Coke is the master of applying this marketing pattern.

Re: A Coca-Cola plant in Mexico uses 1.08M liters of water per day as wells dry up

#90

Post by [deleted] »

artursapek wrote: post #64
randlet wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The water isn't safe to drink, and Coke can be cheaper than milk or formula, so some moms feed their babies Coke instead. Fucking hell that's awful.

Does coca-cola charge for breast milk over there?

[deleted]
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