Recent news has come out exposing Monsanto for trying to discredit any scientist who paints a less-than-rosy picture for biotech and GMO crops. To join this play on the consumer conscience is a ploy from the international soda seller, Coca-Cola. Some claim that the company pays scientists who will shift the blame away from junk food diets and sugar-laden sodas for causing a global obesity epidemic, and numerous other serious health concerns.
In fact, Coca-Cola was caught paying ‘health leaders’ to say soda is a ‘healthy snack’ before.
Coca-Cola claims that it wants America to be fit. Really…
Does it seem ironic that one of the major contributors to the growing obesity rate around the world, Coca-Cola, gave $3 million in 2012 to Chicago’s Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance in order to begin a ‘wellness program’? The mega-corp also donates millions to strike down GMO labeling.
Here’s an idea for wellness – stop selling people drinks so full of GM sugar that they don’t get a single nutritional need met, while simply filling up on empty, calories. Not to take the focus off of our own responsibility to educate ourselves and eat better, but Coca-Cola heading a ‘wellness’ campaign is like Charles Manson trying to lead a workshop on how to get in touch with your ‘inner child.’
Yet, similar to the tactics used by Big Tobacco, Coca-Cola and other companies aligned with the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association simply use ‘science’ to persuade a nation to keep up with their sugar addictions.
These addictions are real. Consider Natasha Harris who died in 2013 from a cardiac arrhythmia, according to a 19-page coroner’s report. Harris, a mother of 8 from Invercargill, New Zealand, was known to smoke heavily and skip multiple meals, but coroner David Crerar concluded that the sugar and caffeine she got by drinking more than 2.6 gallons of Coca-Cola Classic per day was ‘the substantial factor’ in her death.”
We are supposed to forget facts like these with Coca-Cola’s new ‘science-based’ marketing campaign attempt to fancy up a ridiculous message which tells America to just move more, and worry less about the calories they consume. We learn from the New York Times articles (linked in the first paragraph) that:
“The beverage giant has teamed up with influential scientists who are advancing this message in medical journals, at conferences and through social media. To help the scientists get the word out, Coke has provided financial and logistical support to a new nonprofit organization called the Global Energy Balance Network, which promotes the argument that weight-conscious Americans are overly fixated on how much they eat and drink while not paying enough attention to exercise.”
Read: 9 ‘Healthy’ Brands Owned by Coca-Cola
That’s odd since a 12-oz can of Coke contains around 138 calories. This means that most people would have to walk almost an hour to burn off the calories in one Coke. This also ignores the fact that the sugar levels in Coke and the fake-sugars in Diet Coke are responsible for a host of other ailments aside from obesity – from insulin resistance to migraines.
Then there’s the dire consideration that found in a Danish study showing that men who drank 32 ounces or more of Coca-Cola daily could reduce their sperm count by nearly 30%, or that those who drink soda’s like Coca-Cola tend to eat less nutrition-filled fruits and vegetables.
Yes, the very same company that is launching a ‘science-based’ campaign for ‘wellness’ makes products which contain:
- Phosphoric Acid (in Coca-Cola and Diet Coke) which has been shown to destroy bones by contributing to osteoporosis as well as damaging teeth.
- Aspartame, now known as AminoSweet, which has been linked to numerous diseases and health problems.
- Food dyes and other chemical additives that are known carcinogens.
- GM Sugar – Want a reality check for how much sugar (often of the genetically modified variety) is in Coca-Cola? Watch this video.
This doesn’t even cover the questionable ‘wellness’ provided by products like Vitamin Water, which has been the subject of both a lawsuit, and subsequent settlement.
Or how about the California judge who has allowed a suit against the Coca Cola Company to proceed, despite Coke’s claims that the lawsuit is without merit. The plaintiffs are suing Coke, alleging that the following claim is false:
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“No artificial flavors.
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No preservatives added.
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Since 1886.
Why would this claim be false? Take a look at the ingredient list and you can decide:
‘Carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, natural flavors, caffeine.'”
So as we drink to our ‘health’ Steven N. Blair, an exercise scientist, says:
“Most of the focus in the popular media and in the scientific press is, ‘Oh they’re eating too much, eating too much, eating too much’ — blaming fast food, blaming sugary drinks and so on . . .and there’s really virtually no compelling evidence that that, in fact, is the cause.”
Sure, eating calorie-filled food with high sugar content, and carcinogenic ingredients – that’s a sure way to wellness – said NO ONE, EVER. Oh, wait, unless of course you work for Coca-Cola.
Many health experts are smart enough to know better. They warn that this message is misleading and irresponsible.