Instead, this is a carefully researched and thoughtful history of a fascinating corporation, and a lesson in how this business grew and prospered largely through getting others to take the risks. The above may suggest – wrongly – that Citizen Coke is primarily a polemic against global business in general and the Coca-Cola Company in particular. Make no mistake: as Elmore details, Coke is an insatiably thirsty user of natural resources, consuming more water in 2012 than would be required by 2 billion people for cooking, cleaning and drinking. But, the author asks, is this a bargain we should engage in? Surely, he argues, we should set an appropriate price for the resources on which such firms rely, and keep a more watchful eye over our natural capital. In exchange for its offer of jobs and prosperity around the world, it manufactures its iconic soft drink product thanks in no small part to publicly held resources and infrastructure. Coca-Cola is a company that in the 21st century is promoting its sustainability profile, launching new lower-calorie lines and funding anti-obesity initiatives. This paradox is echoed in the epilogue of Elmore’s book. Above all, Elmore’s account speaks to the way that once “Citizen Coke” took hold, it would go on to dominate the world. Given that such companies’ engagement in the Third World can be difficult to trace and assess, as consumers we can never be sure if they are aiding or hindering the developing countries in which they invest. The episode is a salient reminder of the ethical choices we face when dealing with global giants such as the Coca-Cola Company. As Elmore puts it: “It seemed I had become trapped in the history I had come to investigate.”

His friend suggested it would be safer to drink Coke than the tap water. When the pair later found themselves, hungry and thirsty, in a local restaurant, they were confronted by a refrigerator full of the familiar red-labelled soft drink bottles. He and his companion, a friend of Indian parentage who had volunteered as translator, heard villagers’ troubling accounts of unethical practices and mysterious illnesses. Partway through this comprehensive history, Bartow Elmore recounts a trip he made in 2010 to the Indian city of Coimbatore in search of a Coca-Cola bottling plant shut down by local authorities after allegations that it had drained local wells and polluted the water.

Citizen coke