Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola upped its production of plastic drink bottles by more than a billion between 2015 and 2016, bringing the total number of bottles manufactured during that time to 110 billion, according to an analysis by Greenpeace. Coca-Cola, which is responsible for more plastic bottles than any other company, said in July that it intended to increase the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles to 50 percent by 2020, reports The Guardian.

On average, food companies improved their management of water by 10 percent compared to 2015, according to the report Feeding Ourselves Thirsty, published by the nonprofit investor coalition Ceres.

In "the opening shot of 2017," health advocates filed suit in federal court in Oakland, Calif., accusing Coca-Cola and the trade group American Beverage Association of deceiving consumers of the health risk of sugary drinks and saying there was no link between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity, says Quartz. Coca-Cola said the lawsuit was "legally and factually meritless."

"At a time when public mistrust of science runs high, and non-experts are hard-pressed to separate fact from industry-sponsored spin, Sense About Science, a charity based in London with an affiliate in New York, presents itself as a trustworthy arbiter," says Liza Gross in FERN’s latest story, "Seeding For Science,” which was co-produced with The Intercept.

The American Beverage Association, a soda industry group, said it will suspend payments to health experts speaking against soda taxes on social media, said the Associated Press.

The UN International Labor Organization estimates 3.5 million people around the world work in forced labor conditions in agriculture, including forestry and fishing, says Civil Eats in a story on slavery in the food chain. "This means that forced labor has played a role in the supply chains of many of the most popular food and drinks."

European chemical companies have revealed plans to develop plant-based plastics for Coca-Cola bottles and Danone yogurt cups, says Reuters. One of the firms, Avantium, will announce an initial public offering (IPO) this week to help fund a new production facility for the material, which it is co-producing with Germany's BASF, the largest chemical producer in the world.

Vermont broadcaster WCAX-TV says Coca-Cola, the largest soft drink company in the world, "is advising stores that some of its products, like individual cans and bottles, will no longer be available" when the state's GMO food-label law goes into effect on Friday.

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson asked a court Monday to grant summary judgment and penalties for the Grocery Manufacturers Association in a suit stemming from the group's campaign against GMO labeling. GMA, a Washington D.C.-based trade association, was the largest donor to the “No on 522” campaign, which sought to block genetic labeling requirements in 2013.

The anti-obesity group Global Energy Balance Network "announced this week that it was shutting down after months of pressure from public health authorities who said that the group’s mission was to play down the link between soft drinks and obesity," said the New York Times.

The world's largest producer of sugary beverages "is backing a new 'science-based' solution to the obesity crisis" - exercise more and worry less about calories - says the New York Times.

The "good food" sector, which includes Chipotle, Whole Foods and Applegate, are making inroads in the marketplace, but when it comes to policymaking, "their involvement on Capitol Hill, on issues from the farm bill to nutrition labeling, has ranged from limited to non-existent," says Politico.

Thirteen of the largest U.S. companies "are joining President Obama" to push "a slew of policies meant to curb the effects of climate change," said The Hill newspaper.

Coca-Cola, a giant in the world of soda and other bottled beverages, will launch a brand-name, premium milk, called Fairlife, in 2015, says Bloomberg.

The statewide referendum in Oregon over labeling foods containing genetically modified organisms is now the most expensive ballot question in state history, says the Salem Statesman Journal.

The opposition to state-level labeling of GMO foods is out-spending the proponents in Colorado and Oregon, which hold statewide referendums on the issue on Nov 4, says Food Safety News.

The major U.S. soda companies set a goal to reduce by 20 percent the calories that each American consumes in beverages by 2025. Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper and Pepsi joined the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation in the initiative, said the American Beverage Association. It will promote smaller serving sizes and consumption of water or other no- or low-calorie drinks. The ABA said the project "is the single-largest voluntary effort by an industry to fight obesity."

Sixteen major food and beverage companies sold 6.4 trillion fewer calories in 2012 than they did in 2007, says the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which paid for an independent evaluation of sales. The companies had pledged to cut 1 trillion calories by 2012 and 1.5 trillion calories by 2015. In total, the companies sold products containing 60.4 trillion calories in 2007.