Coca-Cola's Responses to Consumers over the Years

November 30, 2007

Mr. Mark Preisinger
Manager, Shareholder Affairs
Coca-Cola
1 Coca-Cola Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30313-2499

Dear Mr. Preisinger,

It has been over seven years since you wrote a June 6, 2000 letter to Mr. Simon Billeness, then Senior Analyst for Trillium Asset Management Corporation in which you stated:

"The Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations will not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals."

The issue at hand was Coke's signs and banners posted by certain Spanish and Mexican bottlers in bullrings. You explained that there was a process of removing the signs and banners that required some time, but then you went on to state:

"In any event, I can assure you, based upon our recent review, that this policy has now been fully implemented. I also want to assure you that if you hear of any violations of this policy anywhere we do business, I would be anxious to know about it and will commit to rectifying the matter promptly."

Your statement was supported in 2004 by then Consumer Information Manager Bernice Sayer, who reacted to Coke banners found in a Spanish bullring with the following:

"The banner belongs to our bottling partners Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd and the agreement is between them and the stadium rather than the organizers of bullfighting. However, the Coca-Cola Company has a policy in force stating that our operations would not associate itself where there is a risk of physical harm to animals, and therefore I have asked that the banner be removed during bullfighting events."

Over seven years have passed since you wrote the letter to Simon Billeness, and for those seven years SHARK has frequently informed Coke about the fact that the policy has not been fully implemented with regard to Coke sponsored rodeos, which maim and kill untold numbers of animals every year. We have called your office numerous times, and are always shuttled off to public relations people who are powerless to do anything.

The fallback of the public relations department is to rely on the discredited claim that Coke has no control over its bottlers. This is false. I am now formally requesting that you, as an official representative of Coca-Cola, please follow through on your commitment. To refresh your memory, Coca-Cola's Animal Welfare Policy states:

The Coca-Cola Company does not endorse or condone any practice of cruelty to animals, and the Company does not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals.

Mr. Preisinger, the very nature of ethics is that they are a restraint on damaging behavior. This is a burden willingly borne by those who wish to live above the law of the jungle. A company that enacts "ethics" that are mere public relations ploys is lower than a company that claims no ethics at all. Coke has already taken itself out of the middle tier in that it has enacted an animal welfare policy. The question now is whether Coke is in the top tier of ethical companies, or the lowest tier of unethical companies.

At this point I don't know how the Coca-Cola Company can claim to be anything but profoundly unethical, but I would like to work with you to resolve that. However, your refusal to deal with this is making that process difficult to impossible. I look forward to hearing from you on this important issue by Tuesday, December 3, 2007.

Sincerely,
Steve Hindi
President, SHARK

Cc: E. Neville Isdell, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Muhtar Kent, President and Chief Operating Officer
J. Alexander M. (Sandy) Douglas Jr., Senior VP and President-North America Coca-Cola
Gary P. Fayard, EVP and Chief Financial Officer
Irial Finan, EVP and President Bottling Investments and Supply Chain
Geoffrey J. Kelly, SVP and General Counsel
Thomas G. Mattia, SVP and Director, Worldwide Public Affairs and Communications
Mary E. Minnick, EVP and President Marketing, Strategy, and Innovation
Marc Mathieu, VP-Corporate Marketing
Tim Goudie, Manager Sports & Entertainment
Barry Diller, Chairman of the Board
Sam Nunn,Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Peter V. Ueberroth
Donald F. McHenry
Herbert A. Allen
Ronald W. Allen
Cathleen P. Black
James D. Robinson III
James B. Williams
Donald R. Keough

Enclosures:
Simon Letter
Bernice Sayers Letter
Animal Welfare Policy

December 4, 2007

Dear Mr. Hindi,

In response to your recent letter to Mark Preisinger, Vice President, Public Policy and Stakeholder Engagement, please note that The Coca-Cola Company maintains a long- standing policy regarding animal welfare and the ethical and humane treatment of animals.

Our Company does not sponsor rodeos or bullfighting events. However, rodeos are subject to federal, state and local laws and are closely monitored to ensure adherence to numerous guidelines and restrictions regarding proper treatment of animals. The majority of rodeos are sanctioned by a governing body, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), which has a strict code of rules including 60 regulations that safeguard animal welfare. Violators are subject to fines and disqualification from events.

We recognize the right of independent bottlers to sponsor local events and community initiatives, including the many state fairs and local festivals that celebrate the history and heritage of the Western United States. Because some of these fairs and festivals may include rodeo events, we will reiterate to the bottlers our Company's policy and ask that they ensure that the events they sponsor are compliant with the PRCA guidelines for responsible treatment of animals. And, as we have done in the past, we will alert them to your concerns.

We also have shared your concerns with the PRCA and have asked them to respond to you directly.

Kind regards,

Kari Bjorhus
Director, Public Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company

December 10, 2007

Dear Ms. Bjorhus:

Thank you for your letter of December 4, 2007. While the Coca-Cola Company claims to have a policy regarding animal welfare and the ethical and humane treatment of animals, the only longstanding characteristic of said policy is Coke's refusal to honor it with regard to rodeos that maim and kill untold numbers of animals annually.

In regards to your letter, I will ignore the diversion to supposed laws that protect rodeo animals, because this has nothing to do with Coke's policy that is being violated. I will also ignore your claim that the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) enforces its humane rules, other than to point out that this claim was thoroughly discredited well over a decade ago. In any case, this again in no way would replace Coke's policy, since even a well-run rodeo still subjects animals to the risk of physical harm.

SHARK has over three dozen videos on the Internet that disprove your claim. For your convenience, I have included links to some of theses videos as evidence that your claim of PRCA humane enforcement is absolutely false.

Horses Shocked by Rodeo Stock Contractor Ike Sankey at 2007 Pendleton Round-Up Rodeo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hwJdQZU9_oU

Other videos showing rodeo horses being shocked to make them perform are listed below.

One of rodeo's many lies is that rodeo horses are "Born to Buck". The following three videos show that the tame, domesticated horses in rodeos don't buck until they are shocked with 5,000 - 6,000 volts of electricity and/or harassed into bucking.

"Born to Buck?" -- The Big Rodeo Lie
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2Fw7-ju1gZs

"Born to Buck?" Part 2: The Big Rodeo Lie
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3kiaZY0c8pc

"Born to Buck?" Part 3: Horse Injury and Abuse
http://youtube.com/watch?v=8Jdk3m0dvAo

The real truth about bulls in rodeos, and you will be surprised:

Rodeo Bulls: Killers or Gentle Giants?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LOOiu2UdHeM

Showing rodeo's most brutal event that results in the most injuries and deaths of animals:

Steer Busting Finals Busted Big-Time by SHARK, Part 1
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TKiNC-FjXec

Exposing the lie that rodeos provide medical care to the animals they injure:

Steer Busting Finals Busted Big-Time by SHARK, Part 2
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iHxlIpn63mY

Let me cut to the chase of this issue. The fact is that the Coca-Cola Company has a policy that it is knowingly violating that states:

The Coca-Cola Company does not endorse or condone any practice of cruelty to animals, and the Company does not sponsor or promote events where there is a risk of physical harm to animals.

Given this policy, it doesn't even matter if the PRCA enforces humane rules, which it doesn't. The only question is whether animals are injured at rodeos. As the videos aforementioned clearly document, animals are indeed injured and killed at rodeos.

SHARK's CokeCruelty.com web site has both pictures and videos of animals injured and killed at rodeos in violation of your policy. SHARK has been investigating rodeos for over 14 years, and we have thousands of pictures and hours of video footage showing animals being consistently injured and killed.

As for the issue of independent bottlers, please do not pretend that these bottlers do not have to follow Coke policies. Every entity in the corporate world has to follow the procedures and policies set by their corporate headquarters. Your claim about independent bottlers has further been thoroughly discredited with respect to bullfighting and cockfighting. If, in the alternative, Coke is suggesting that independent bottlers in bullfighting and cockfighting countries no longer have to observe a ban on advertising in those venues, please advise. In that case, this will broaden the nature of SHARK's campaign significantly.

In closing, I am requesting a meeting no later than February 2008 between representatives of at least fifteen domestic and international humane organizations to discuss this issue at Coca-Cola headquarters. SHARK is also amenable to holding the meeting at your Chicago location. We could certainly have more than fifteen representatives involved, but that seems to be a manageable number. There are over 160 humane organizations worldwide, the list of which can be viewed on CokeCruelty.com, that are opposed to the treatment of animals in rodeos. If Coca-Cola also wants to invite a representative of the PRCA to address the claim of animal well being at rodeos, then we are open to your wish to do so.

Sincerely,
Steve Hindi
President, SHARK

Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We take issues raised by the public very seriously and are committed to listening and understanding any concerns that people have about our Company and our sponsorships. Our Company maintains a long-standing policy regarding the ethical and humane treatment of animals. Additionally, The Coca-Cola Company does not sponsor rodeos or bullfighting events.

Rodeos are subject to federal, state and local laws and are closely monitored to ensure adherence to numerous guidelines and restrictions regarding proper treatment of animals. The majority of rodeos are sanctioned by a governing body, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA), which has a strict code of rules including 60 regulations that safeguard animal welfare. Violators are subject to fines and disqualification from events.

If you are interested in more information regarding the welfare of the animals featured in rodeo events, visit the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association website at, www.prorodeo.com. The PRCA has created one of the most comprehensive animal welfare programs in the United States - incorporating rules, enforcement procedures, veterinarians and extensive educational programs with the goal of insuring the highest quality of care and treatment for rodeo livestock.

We recognize the right of independent bottlers to sponsor local events and community initiatives, including the many state fairs and local festivals that celebrate the history and heritage of the Western United States. Because some of these fairs and festivals may include rodeo events, we have communicated to our bottlers the importance of ensuring that the events they sponsor are compliant with the PRCA guidelines for responsible treatment of animals.

We appreciate the opportunity to respond and have relayed your concerns to our bottlers. If you have questions or comments in the future, feel free to contact us again.

Sincerely,

Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company

December 2006

Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We always take issues raised by the public very seriously and are committed to listening to special interest groups, understanding, and if at all possible, addressing those concerns. The Coca-Cola Company has not sponsored a rodeo or rodeo circuit for more than five years. Some independent bottlers in the U.S. and Canada choose to sponsor local rodeos in their respective markets. Those decisions, like all bottler sponsorships, are made at the local level by the individual bottling company, based on consumer and community interest. We appreciate the opportunity to respond and have relayed your concerns to the appropriate management here at the corporate headquarters.

Sincerely,
Chicquilla
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company

April 27, 2006

Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company. We're grateful to be made aware of your concerns.

Concern for the ethical treatment of animals is a cause the The Coca-Cola Company fully supports. The The Coca-Cola Company does not believe, however, that by sponsoring or promoting rodeo events the Company is thereby endorsing or condoning an inherently cruel practice. The Coca-Cola Company and its Bottlers currently sponsor multipurpose entertainment venues that feature our signage and where rodeo contests do occur. The Coca-Cola Company and its Bottlers may in the future choose to sponsor or promote rodeo events. The Coca-Cola Company respects the concerns expressed by animal welfare groups, including concern for the proper treatment of animals at rodeos. In order to stay fully informed of those concerns, The Coca-Cola Company has and will maintain an open dialogue with animal welfare groups regarding the proper treatment of animals. The Coca-Cola Company has a long history of responsible corporate citizenship. Good corporate citizenship is a belief we not only take seriously, but put into practice everywhere we do business. Please be assured that we will share your comments with the appropriate management here at the corporate headquarters. We're sure they will also appreciate receiving your remarks.

Sincerely,

Lesley
Industry and Consumer Affairs
The Coca-Cola Company