3 Nov, 2015
How one of the most obese countries on earth took on the soda giants
The Guardian | The Long read | Tina Rosenberg | Tuesday 3 November 2015
Mexicans love their soda. Construction workers go to their jobs in the early morning clutching giant two-litre or even three-litre bottles. Babies in strollers suck on bottles filled with orange soda. In thehighlands of Chiapas, Coca-Cola is considered to have magical powers and is used in religious rites.
In fact, Mexicans drink more soda than nearly anyone else in the world; their top three daily sources of calories in 2012 were all high-calorie drinks. Mexico also has by far the world’s highest death rate from chronic diseases caused by consumption of sugary drinks – nearly triple that of the runner-up, South Africa. In other words, excessive consumption of soda kills twice as many Mexicans as trade in the other kind of coke that Mexico is famous for.
Abstract:
What keeps soda executives up at night is the spectre of a soda tax. They don’t worry about lost revenue or sales from a tax – it’s the demonisation of their product. Soda is on the verge of becoming the liquid cigarette. So the industry seeks to break the link between soda and disease, and backs research to support that view. Its companies cultivate a health-conscious image – a tactic that, conveniently, also sells beverages. Coca-Cola’s promotion of thousands of sporting events in
Mexico is also a key marketing and advertising strategy. And if they can’t actually win friends, companies spend like crazy to buy them. There was a time when Philip Morris and British American Tobacco did all these things, too. It only put off the inevitable. Sodamakers have a dilemma: every effort to avoid becoming the tobacco industry makes them look more like the tobacco industry.
