Monday’s viewpoint (Drinking Coke and Wearing Nikes, 02/21/2005) demonstrates to the campus community exactly why the University must not renew its contract with the Coca-Cola Company. Yes, money talks. The $1.3 million contract the University has with the Coca-Cola Corporation talks. It speaks so clearly that Coca-Cola sent representatives to the Michigan Student Assembly last night to try and talk back. Yes, globalization has had devastating effects on many countries. And yes, most of all the products we buy in some way support negative practices — but we can change that.

The members of the Coke Coalition refuse to accept that collaborating with paramilitaries to murder union leaders and members of their families is an acceptable byproduct of globalization. We refuse to accept that distributing toxic waste to farmers, telling them it is fertilizer or selling drinks filled with dangerous levels of pesticides, is an acceptable byproduct of globalization. We think people should come before profit. We believe that a Coke from a vending machine in Angell Hall is not worth Isidrio Gil’s blood or the tears of Luis Cardona’s daughter who didn’t understand why she had to leave her home. We don’t believe a Coke after a hockey game is worth the health and livelihood of entire communities in India or anywhere else.

While the author of Drinking Coke and Wearing Nikes acknowledges that Coca-Cola may have done something wrong — may have exploited its workers, stolen water from fragile ecosystems, intimidated unions and even conspired with paramilitary groups to intimidate and murder union leaders — he is still willing to conduct business with the offender because he doesn’t think any of our efforts will make any difference. What’s the importance of one purchase, anyway?

One purchase, with many, is very important. The tactic of the Coke Campaign is to hold one company accountable for its actions by using the University as leverage to effect change. When it succeeds and Coca-Cola changes its practices, other companies will be forced to change as well in order to stay competitive in the market. In this way, we can all use our consumer power to change the market. This is a goal worthy of our university, an institution with high aims and great influence, a university on the cutting edge of social and environmental issues. Our university has already taken steps to advance ideals of social and environmental justice. Last year, the University adopted a Code of Conduct for all of its vendors that states that “in aligning itself with its core values and practices, the University seeks to recognize and promote basic human rights, appropriate labor standards for employees, and a safe, healthful, sustainable environment for the general public.” Though these general principles may seem lofty and impractical, the code mandates one standard: compliance with the law.

Drinking Coke and Wearing Nikes states that with regard to accusations against Coke, “nothing has been proven in a court of law.” This is incorrect. On Dec. 16, 2003, in response to allegations of Coke’s connection to water shortages in India, the Kerala High Court ruled that Coke’s extraction from the common ground water resource in Kerala was illegal and demanded the plant seek alternative water sources. When Coke resisted changing its practices, the state shut down the bottling plant indefinitely on June 15, 2004. The state of Kerala has also deemed water around the plant “unfit for consumption.”

Coke has also distributed toxic waste to farmers in Kerala as fertilizer. Tests conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation found dangerous levels cadmium and lead in this waste. Coke only stopped distribution when ordered to do so by the government.

A lawsuit filed by the United Steel Workers of America on behalf of SINALTRAINAL, a food workers’ union, charging that Coke is complicit in the murder of nine of its union leaders, is currently under appeal. However, a fact-finding delegation by the New York City Council concluded that, “To date there have been a total of 179 major human rights violations on Coca-Cola’s workers, including nine murders. Family members of union activists have been abducted and tortured, and union members have been fired for attending union meetings.”

Parts of the $1.3 million contract between the University and Coca-Cola expire in June. Drinking Coke and Wearing Nikes states that corporations should be held accountable but that it should be done through market forces. We must realize that our University in fact is a part of this market and plays a significant role in this force. The University has the opportunity to show Coke its practices are unacceptable. This will send two strong messages from the University to the corporate world: