The Coca-Cola Company’s Role In The Health Crisis In Mexico

In our discussion on the Coca-Cola Company, we discussed that it is no mystery why the Coca-Cola company became among the most consumed brands in many parts of the world. This was a consequence of their employing tactics that included targeting children, undermining efforts by schools to provide healthy alternatives, donating to politicians to obtain favourable treatment, and more. Well, these approaches (which are certainly not exclusive to the Coca-Cola Company, and are employed by other soda companies) have resulted in health crises in a number of targeted nations.

When a southern Mexican state effectively outlawed sales of sugary drinks and sweets to children to protect public health, the ban made international news. But few people in Oaxaca – even some fizzy drinks distributors and shop owners – are aware of the rule and the authorities have not enforced the potentially unpopular measure, despite tens of thousands of deaths nationally a year linked to sugary beverages, as obesity and diabetes rates soar.

Oaxaca is known as the culinary capital of Mexico. Still, like elsewhere in the country, diets have shifted towards ultra-processed foods and higher meat consumption – as well as sugary drinks. And yet, in recent years, the state has had the highest rate of child obesity in Mexico and the second highest among adults. But now,…read more