At present, human rights organizations around the world are asking us to boycott Coca-Cola products. I learned that the Coop carries at least one of their products. Have you been buying Odwalla bars? If so, you may want to know that this company has been bought out by Coke.

The boycott of Coke officially began this past July 22. The action is in support of union workers in a Columbia bottling plant that is partially owned by Coke. Coca-Cola is accused of paying Columbia’s notorious paramilitary death squads for the assassination of eight unionists as well as of kidnapping, torture and falsifying evidence against union members. A legal case against Coke is moving forward in the United States.

There have been many other concerns about Coke. In 1997, Coca-Cola agreed to give $8.4 million to a school district over a 10-year period in return for the school agreeing to sell 70,000 cases of Coke products per year. To reach this goal, Coke encouraged the school district to allow children unlimited access to vending machines in the schools and to allow them to drink their products in the classroom. This agreement was seen by Coke as a model to use throughout the country.

In 2000, a former Coca-Cola employee filed a racial discrimination suit. Earlier, a tentative settlement had been reached in a discrimination case, and another $1.5 billion suit had been filed.

The Multinational Monitor has named Coca-Cola as one of the "Ten Worst Corporations of 2001" for its aggressive advertising campaigns aimed at children, including the featuring of Harry Potter on some of its packages.

In 2002, Coca-Cola agreed to pay $8.1 million to more than 200 female employees for underpaying them. Coke workers also filed three lawsuits accusing the company of manipulating time cards to eliminate overtime pay.

In 2003, Coca-Cola was fined $300,000 for pollution in Panama.

If you are concerned about these issues, you can join the Coca-Cola boycott—and inform your friends about it. Talk to the Coop managers and Board about developing a food buying policy that emphasizes small, local and socially responsible food producers, rather than multinational corporations. See if information about where products come from can be posted at the Coop. Carry a list of Coke-owned products when you shop, so you can avoid buying any.

• Coca-Sola soda, all varieties

• Tab, Dr. Pepper, Sprite

• Minute Maid products, including Barcardi mixers, Bright and Early, Disney juices, Five Alive, Fruitopia, Hi-C, Odwalla, Samantha, Simply Orange

• Fanta, F&N, Barq’s, Surge, Mello Yello, Fresca

• Evian and Dasani bottled water

• Nestea, KMX, Mad River, Pibb Xtra, Planet Java, Powerade, Sparkletts, Schweppes