Coca Cola is Killing Mexicans

How the world’s largest country grapples with their Coke addiction

Credits: Unsplash

Mexico ranks one of the most overweight countries in the world, for both adults and children. Most nutritionists point to an unlikely culprit: the country’s excessive consumption of Cocoa Cola, which is widely recognized as their unofficial national drink.

The country consumes more Coca Cola per capita than any other country in the world, translating to roughly 163 liters, or 43 gallons, per person every year. This is 50 percent more than the United States, which is the second highest consumer of Coke. The company has such a stranglehold on Mexico that it controls three quarters of the soda industry, compared with about a 40 percent share in the U.S. market.

Coca Cola is so deadly that it kills more Mexicans a year than the drug of the same name. The deaths attributed to the drug cartel are estimated to be around 20,000 a year, which is dwarfed by the 70,000 people who die of Type-2 diabetes annually.

There is one region in Mexico where the fizzy beverage is consumed more than any other. In Mexico’s most southern and poorest state, Chiapas, the average person consumes 821 liters a year, or 2.2 liters a day, which is five times the national average. Since the drink is so popular, the majority of children are already consuming it by age 3. This has had devastating effects on the community, as tens of thousands struggle with Type-2 diabetes and tooth decay each year. There are a number of factors that has lead Chiapas to become the Coca Cola capital of the world.

There is scarce access to clean water, and as the region has become more urbanized in the past few decades, the area has become increasingly more barren, meaning water is more and more precious. In fact, one in three homes do not have sufficient drinking water. As a result, thousands become sick every year, so many turn to Coke as a replacement for water.

The other main catalyst for widespread consumption is a Coca Cola plant, which was built in San Cristóbal de las Casas, a town located right in the center of Chiapas. The factory was built in 1990, and consumes 1 million liters of water a day. As the surrounding land has become more dry, water has became an expensive commodity for many. The soda is both more accessible and…