No-one who reads the delicately named Belching Out the Devil will ever look at a glass of Coca-Cola in the same way again – not because of the dietary aspects, although comedian and political activist Mark Thomas does point out that a product consisting almost entirely of sugar and water is not something that the world really needs. No, the target in his sights in this book is the corporat

e behaviours and practices of The Coca-Cola Company, and the impact they have on the environment and communities around the world in the name of producing a product that no-one really needs.

It’s important to understand at the outset that Coke is not, technically, produced by a single global company; rather, the parent corporation markets the drink and produces the essential syrup, while a global network of bottling companies, many wholly or partially owned by The Coca-Cola Company, conducts business around the world – on that basis, many of the abuses that Thomas goes on to describe are disclaimed by Coke’s global HQ as not their direct responsibility. Thomas’ initial focus is on Columbia, where union busting in Coke bottling plants has led to the involvement of the right-wing death squads that plague the country. The situation is so severe that union organisers face death threats, beatings and intimidation; one was even murdered on the premises at a bottling plant. Thomas’s enquiries to Coke are met with denials, evasions and an apparent persecution complex – the company with the highest value brand in the world thinks it’s being “picked on”.

Elsewhere in the world, Thomas explores the effect of Coke bottling plants on drought-stricken areas of India (it takes nearly 4 litres of drinking water to make 1 litre of Coke); the use of child labour in Costa Rica to harvest the vital sugar cane; more anti-trade union activity in Turkey and Ireland; and abuse of market position in Mexico, where retailers were put under immense pressure not to sell rival Big Cola. Throughout his travels, he interviews the people most affected and tries to give Coke the chance to put their side of the story. Thomas, who has never been shy of confronting the subjects of his research, caps it all off by buying a share in Coca-Cola and visiting the AGM, where it is resoundingly apparent that Coke’s approach is to give the appearance of taking action while failing to address the underlying issues.

On the plus side, this investigation is extremely current and well researched – and for those who are interested, it includes various appendices of material received from Coke in response to questions asked (though dignifying them with the term ‘answers’ might be an exaggeration). There are a few negatives, though they don’t detract too much from the overall power of the book – mostly, these are based a need for more effective copy-editing and proofing. There were a couple of turns of phrase that set my teeth on edge, and more errors than you would expect from a major publisher. This contributes to a slight sense of a book that has been rushed to market, but in fairness, that freshness also adds to the outrage you can’t fail to feel when you read about the indignities that have been heaped on many parts of the developing world in the name of producing fizzy pop. If you’re like me, you may well resolve not to drink the stuff again.

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