Students in Trinity Vote to maintain Coke Boycott

Issued : Thursday 24 February, 2005 by Trinity

Students voted in Trinity on Thursday February 24th to keep the boycott of Coke and Nestle. 1737 students voted to remove the boycotts (Yes) while 1926 students voted to keep the boycott (NO).The turnout was up by more than 200 votes on last years referendum and the margin of victory for the boycott was also up.

The international boycott of Coca Cola goods was started in July 2003 and was called by Sinatrainal. It was in response to years of intimidation against trade union members who worked for Coca Cola bottling plants in Colombia. This intimidation included torture, kidnappings and assasinations of union leaders and their family members. The campaign has now been endorsed by students in UCD with two successful referendums in support of the boycott, students in NCAD and Trinity who passed boycotts last year as well as by numerous unions around the world including the Teachers Union of Ireland. The lead by Irish students has also lead to the boycott spreading to campuses around the world. For more information see www.killercoke.org or labouryouthboycottcoke

The boycott of Nestle has been in place for the last decade in colleges such as Trinity and UCD and was put in place in response to fears that the aggresive marketing of formula baby milk by companies like Nestle was leading in part to 1.5 million deaths of babies a year (source UNICEF). For more information see www.babymilkaction.org orwww.ibfan.org

As the boycott of Coke grows internationally farmers in India are throwing their weight behind the campaign. In India, at least six communities that live around Coca-Colas bottling facilities are experiencing severe water shortages as a result of Coca-Colas mining of the common groundwater resource. The groundwater and the soil around Coca-Colas plants have also been polluted, directly as a result of the companys indiscriminate practice of discharging the wastewater into the surrounding fields. In at least 2 communities, Coca- Cola was distributing toxic waste as fertilizer to farmers in the area. And finally, repeated tests of Coca-Cola products in the Indian market have shown that they contain extremely high levels of pesticides, including DDT, sometimes up to 30 times higher than those allowed by EU and US standards (see www.indiaresource.org)

The campaign internationally is also growing. Social organizations in Europe are now taking up the gauntlet in support of communities in the global South. Trade unions, university and college students, schools, community groups and artists, as well as organizations working on a diverse range of issues- including human rights, environmental rights, South Asian issues, corporate accountability and fair trade have pledged their support for the campaign. In Italy, 250 municipalities have voted to join the boycott. In Germany, the worlds largest trade union with 4 million members has done the same. Closer to home, Unison, Britains largest trade, union passed a motion in support of Sinaltrainal and the Coca-Cola boycott. A growing number of campuses in the United States have also backed the campaign as well as trade unions includin the United Steel Workers and the Teamsters.

The result in Trinity has demonstrated clearly that the boycott is here to stay until such a time as Coca Cola stop their ruthless exploitation of the developing world