Defend’s Director of Research, OpEd in Civil Eats

Defend’s Director of Research, Roopa Krithivasan, was featured last week in Civil Eats – a daily news source for critical thought about the American food system. 

Krithivasan pointedly asks a health-conscious audience to consider the toxic impacts of plastic-bottled sodas. Most consumers are well aware of the health risks posed by soda’s sugar levels, but remain in the dark when it comes to the presence of potentially cancer-causing chemicals in plastic bottle packaging.

A significant percentage (30%) of plastic bottles are recycled, and powerful brands like Coca-Cola have become well-versed in the PR benefits of lauding their “100% recycled” content. In fact, they recently switched the color of their Sprite brand bottles from green to clear in order to make them more “recycling-friendly”.

But this attempt is blatant greenwashing – aiming to deflect from rising attention on the danger of PET plastics, which pollute fence-line communities and leave harmful trace chemicals in the body. Though it’s positive that corporations are taking small steps to increase consumer recycling habits, this doesn’t change the systemic impact – the plastics industry is massively damaging to both the environment and human health.

The reality is sobering. National petrochemical plants release more of the cancer-causing chemicals 1,4-dioxane and ethylene oxide into the environment than any other industry, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2021 Toxics Release Inventory.

Krithivasan also discusses the hypocrisy of soda conglomerates trying to increase recycling, when the massive problem starts at the root – with their production. PET plastics are created from fossil fuels, releasing chemical waste that disproportionately impacts lower income communities of color. 

Defend Our Health’s independent testing revealed that over 40% of plastic bottles from leading manufacturers including Coca-Cola and Pepsi have alarmingly high levels of the carcinogenic chemical antimony. Read more on Civil Eats on our efforts to engage corporations which have been met with silence – and join our growing consumer advocacy campaign to tell Coca-Cola to get rid of toxic bottles!