Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism

by Bartow J. Elmore

Overview

"Citizen Coke demostrate[s] a complete lack of understanding about…the Coca-Cola system—past and present." —Ted Ryan, the Coca-Cola Company

By examining “the real thing” ingredient by ingredient, this brilliant history shows how Coke used a strategy of outsourcing and leveraged free public resources, market muscle, and lobbying power to build a global empire on the sale of sugary water. Coke became a giant in a world of abundance but is now embattled in a world of scarcity, its products straining global resources and fueling crises in public health.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780393245936
Publisher:	Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	10/13/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	432
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Bartow J. Elmore teaches environmental and business history at The Ohio State University. For Seed Money, he received the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award and a New America fellowship. He lives with his family in Columbus, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Figures ix

Prologue: A Creation Myth of Citizen Coke 1

Introduction 7

Part I Citizen Coke Comes of Age, 1886 to 1950 15

1 Tap Water: Packaging Public Water for Private Profit 17

2 Waste Tea Leaves: Recycling Caffeine Found in Other Industries' Trash 53

3 Sugar: Satiating Citizen Cane's Sweet Appetite 76

4 Coca Leaf Extract: Hiding the Cocaine-Cola Connection 110

5 Cocoa Waste: Synthesizing Caffeine in Chemical Labs 135

Part II The Costs of Empire, 1950 to Today 151

6 Water from Abroad: Securing Access to Overseas Oases 155

7 Coffee Beans: Capitalizing on the Decaf Boom 193

8 Glass, Aluminum, Plastic: Selling Curbside Recycling to America 224

9 High-Fructose Corn Syrup: Storing Sweeteners in Stomach Silos 262

Epilogue: Sustaining Coke's Future? 297

Acknowledgments 305

Notes 311

Bibliography 371

Illustration Credits 395

Index 397

Editorial Reviews

07/28/2014
Founded in 1866 by a “cash-strapped morphine addict operating out of a small pharmaceutical shop,” Coca-Cola didn’t have the most auspicious beginnings. However, as historian Elmore shows in this detailed profile, the company’s success can be traced to an ingenious strategy: supply only the syrup and let suppliers and franchises bear the costs of bottling and distribution, while utilizing the public water supply. This outsourcing enabled massive growth. Even sugar was outsourced during the 1920s, when a dehydrated, sugarless version of the drink was shipped to overseas bottlers, requiring them to add the sweetener. The potential public relations nightmare of aluminum Coke cans littering the countryside was handily managed by encouraging municipalities to run their own recycling programs, and the role of Coke in the ever-expanding waistlines of Americans was muted by the simple fact that the company is so deeply embedded in local communities. Elmore’s theory is thoroughly and consistently articulated throughout the book, but it’s a narrow one. The company’s marketing and branding efforts get nary a mention, and Elmore struggles with incorporating cultural and dietary trends. Still, this is a well researched and accessible history of one of the world’s most iconic brands. 8 pages of illus. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"What Elmore does best is analyze how Coke takes advantage of global public works and government interventions to boost its place in world markets…Citizen Coke began as a dissertation, and its points are lucid and logically presented; the language is accessible, and punchy chapter endings propel the story."

Beth Macy

"Coca-Cola is one of the most powerful economic institutions of our time, but its social and ecological impacts remain understudied. Now, in the hands of a talented young historian, corporate capitalism gets the attention it deserves in a careful dissection of the material underpinnings of the world’s most valuable brand. Citizen Coke will cause you to drink less and think more."

Ted Steinberg

"As the soda wars heat up, this book is an indispensable resource."

Michael Pollan

"A fascinating, thought-provoking approach to Coca-Cola history through the drink’s primary ingredients—water, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, coca leaf, caffeine—and the glass, plastic, and aluminum that contain them."

Mark Pendergrast

"Citizen Coke is a brilliant analysis of Coke’s empire in ecological, economic, and social terms. It allows us to see the contours of an economy based on partnerships between governments and corporations like Coca-Cola. It makes us conscious of the giant ecological footprint of the Real Thing, which impacts the real lives of real people. If you want a deeper understanding of our world today, read Citizen Coke."

Vandana Shiva

"[Elmore offers] unaccustomed perspectives on a company whose leading product is a household name around the globe…I doubt the Coca-Cola Co. will much like it."

Wall Street Journal - Marc Levinson

11/15/2014
As a huge multinational corporation that owns or licenses over 500 brands and does business in more than 200 countries, the Coca-Cola Company has been the subject of hundreds of publications covering its advertising prowess and political machinations. Environmental writer Elmore (history, Univ. of Alabama) finds a new angle by examining Coca-Cola's growth via its strategy of exploiting local supply chains and production facilities, effectively outsourcing operations (and environmental impacts) before this tactic became widespread. The author devotes a chapter to each main Coke ingredient of sugar, water, and caffeine, following these throughout history so that in early chapters cane sugar, tap water, and waste tea leaves are main topics while later chapters discuss high-fructose corn syrup, overseas water sources, and coffee beans. A chapter on the beverage container demonstrates that even recycling has been outsourced; bottling plants once received old bottles but now the burden of ethical disposal falls to the consumer. Elmore's thorough research covers internal squabbles, local protests, health concerns, and above all, the tension between Coca-Cola's expansive outlook and the environment's limits. VERDICT An important addition to literature on Coca-Cola and capitalism in general. For all libraries.—Heidi Senior, Univ. of Portland Lib., OR

Library Journal

★ 2014-09-16
An eye-opening account of the "unmatched ecological appetite" behind Coca-Cola's worldwide success. In this deeply informed debut, Elmore (History/Univ. of Alabama) details the outsourcing strategy that he calls "Coca-Cola Capitalism," which has allowed Coke to become the world's top brand, with operations in more than 200 countries, at a huge cost to the environment and human health. Acknowledging the company's marketing genius, Elmore claims that Coke's real secret formula has been to rely on other people's time and money, often using public infrastructure to extract raw materials and transport finished products. The strategy—first developed by mass marketers at the turn of the 20th century and later imitated by McDonald's, large software firms and other corporations—eliminates upfront costs and risky investments. Since its founding in 1886, Coke has relied on partnerships for the sugar, caffeine, water, cans and bottles, and other raw materials needed to create its beverages (now selling more than 1.8 billion servings per day). Drawing on archival sources, the author devotes chapters to the ecological impact of each key Coke ingredient. At little cost, the company uses 79 billion gallons of public water supplies yearly to dilute Coke syrup and an estimated 8 trillion gallons to produce bottles and agricultural commodities. The company also has bottling operations in many arid world regions. Elmore describes how Coke has weathered supply disruptions and controversies regarding caffeine and sugar obtained from others and how its huge success during World War II paved the way for overseas expansion. In recent years, the company's sugary beverages have been a major factor in the worldwide obesity epidemic. Without a doubt, Coke has been a good public citizen that stimulates economies and improves lives, writes the author, but the costs to taxpayers—for recycling systems, public pipes and subsidized farms—and the environment call into question how such unsustainable practices can continue in an age of scarcity. A superb, quietly devastating environmental and business history.

Kirkus Reviews