Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism

  • 11h 22m 43s
  • Bartow J. Elmore
  • Blackstone Audio, Inc. dba Blackstone Publishing
  • 2014

Coke's insatiable thirst for resources shapes the company and reshapes the globe in this absorbing history.

Coca-Cola's success in building a global empire out of sugary water drew on more than a secret formula and brilliant advertising. The real secret to Coke's success was its strategy, from the beginning, to offload production costs and risks onto suppliers and franchisees. Outsourcing and a trim corporate profile enabled Coke to scale up production of a low-price beverage and realize huge profits.

But the costs shed by Coke have fallen on the public at large. Coke now uses an annual 79 billion gallons of water, an increasingly precious global resource, and its reliance on corn syrup has helped fuel our obesity crisis. Bartow J. Elmore explores Coke through its ingredients, showing how the company secured massive quantities of coca leaf, caffeine, sugar, and other inputs. Citizen Coke became a giant in a world of abundance; in a world of scarcity, it is a strain on resources and all who depend on them.

In this Audiobook

  • 1. Tap Water: Packaging Public Water for Private Profit
  • 2. Waste Tea Leaves: Recycling Caffeine Found in other Industries' Trash
  • 3. Sugar: Satiating Citizen Cane's Sweet Appetite
  • 4. Coca Leaf Extract: Hiding the Cocaine-Cola Connection
  • 5. Cocoa Waste: Synthesizing Caffeine in Chemical Labs
  • 6. Water from Abroad: Securing Access to Overseas Oases
  • 7. Coffee Beans: Capitalizing on the Decaf Boom
  • 8. Glass, Aluminum, Plastic: Selling Curbside Recycling to America
  • 9. High-Fructose Corn Syrup: Storing Sweeteners in Stomach Silos