Culture Food

Suck it, Coca-Cola

I grew up a Pepsi kid. Somewhere in my 20s, I converted to a Coke guy. Cokes never made me fat and I really paid no attention to what was in one. They did give me pimples — rather, drinking two or three over the course of two days would give me one superpowered zit, which is much worse than having little zits evenly distributed across one’s face.

Reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma opened my eyes to what #2 corn products are, how they are used, and what their nutritional value is(n’t). Compounding the nutritional emptiness of Coke and Pepsi (and Nestle) products are their international water practices, which go something like this: Coke approaches a government with money in exchange for rights to some kind of premium water source. The government, which will sometimes not be accountable to its citizens, grants these rights. Coke or Pepsi builds plants, modifies local water tables, creates huge emissions by bottling and then transporting the waters across land, in the air, or by oceanic freighter, and you get to buy them at the local Safeway.

Frankly, there’s nothing so special about Coke or Pepsi that would make me want to contribute to their coffers. What, then, is the alternative?

A few weeks ago, on the wonderful Mise Economic Blog, I discovered John Nese, the proprietor of Galcos Soda Pop Stop in Los Angeles. The video where he talks about his obsession with soda is a standalone piece of free-market brilliance. He’s also an infectious enthusiast, a regular guy plying his trade in a country that favors the sort of government-induced corporatism that Coke and Pepsi enjoy. Thanks to his influence, I’ve been seeking local stores that cherish variety and offer it to their customers.

Ever tried Fentiman’s Curiosity Cola? It’s delicious, with a dash of ginger for more richness than you’ll ever get out of a can of Coke. Or how about Boylan’s Orange Soda, which is so carbonated that you’ll burp with delight after every other sweet cane-sugar swig. I can also recommend Whole Food’s 365 brand of Cola, which is sweet and fizzy-satisfying. I’ve just purchased Virgil’s micro-brewed Real Cola and Esteban’s Cola Oogave, which sounds frightening, but we’ll see.

Only some of the sodas I’ve cited are free of industrial products like sodium benzoate, citric acid, or the notorious “natural flavors.” It’s up to you to decide how much mystery ingredient you want to tolerate, and to understand how ingredients may or may not collude to form carcinogens.

In the meantime, enjoy a break from high fructose corn syrup by branching out into a land of flavor and sensation not owned by Coke or Pepsi.

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