The company was accused of destroying rainforests, things got so heated Amazon was forced to take down the soda

Nov 21, 2014 14:03 GMT  ·  By
Pepsi True is said to be all natural, made with cane sugar and stevia
5 photos
   Pepsi True is said to be all natural, made with cane sugar and stevia

Earlier this week, on Wednesday, American multinational corporation PepsiCo Inc. introduced the world to a brand new soda. The beverage, dubbed Pepsi True, is made with cane sugar and stevia, which is a sugar substitute extracted from the leaves of the plant dubbed Stevia rebaudian.

According to PepsiCo Inc., this new soda, currently only available on Amazon, is about as natural as any soda could ever hope to be. Hence the fact that it sells in green cans. What's more, thanks to the case sugar and the stevia, it packs very few calories.

The thing is that, as it turns out, environmentalists weren't in the least impressed by the corporation's new soda. On the contrary, it wasn't long after the launch that Pepsi True – or better said, the company marketing it – got thousands of not-so-nice reviews on Amazon.

So, what was all the fuss about?

Like many other food and beverage companies, PepsiCo Inc. uses palm oil to make many of its products. The problem with palm oil is that, as shown by several investigations, it more often than not goes hand in hand with deforestation.

More precisely, plenty of forests have been destroyed over the years in order to accommodate for oil palm plantations, and the palm oil industry is nowhere near done chopping down trees for its own benefit.

Back in May, PepsiCo Inc. announced that, in an attempt to help safeguard the world's remaining forests, it would see to it that the palm oil used to make its products came from sustainable and traceable sources alone, Mongabay informs.

“PepsiCo is committed to realizing zero deforestation in our company-owned and -operated activities and supply chain by 2020,” the American multinational corporation said in a statement issued at that time. Still, it looks like thousands of people are having trouble believing that this will in fact happen.

Thus, it is argued that Pepsi Co Inc.'s commitment to push for sustainability when it comes to its use of palm oil is weak to say the least and that the corporation could do much more to cut all ties with deforestation and the destruction of natural habitats.

“Pepsi could be a leader in sustainability, could rise above its competitors and do the right thing, but instead it has relied on half measures and a commitment with gaps big enough to drive a bulldozer through,” Kaytee Riek with global consumer movement SumOfUs said in a statement.

Taking it out on Pepsi True

Seeing how, at least for the time being, environmentalists are not exactly thrilled with PepsiCo Inc., its new soda, Pepsi True, was attacked almost as soon as it made its public debut on Amazon. In a nutshell, negative reviews started pouring in.

Interestingly enough, few of these reviews had anything to do with the product itself. On the contrary, the majority was directed at the company making and manufacturing it. Things got so heated that, eventually, Amazon decided to temporarily remove the beverage.

“This truly is a terrible product from a truly terrible 'rainforest destroying' company. PepsiCo needs to step up and commit to only buy palm oil from 100% sustainable sources – now,” reads one of the reviews Pepsi True got on Amazon.

“How can ANYONE trust a company that continues to support rainforest destruction by buying unsustainable palm oil. It's time for Pepsi to truly lead the way and commit to only buying palm oil from 100% sustainable sources – now,” another one says.

Presently, the all-natural, zero-calorie soda is once again available on Amazon. In case anyone was wondering, it sells for $8.98 (€7.16). Then again, seeing how it has an average rating of just one star, it seems there aren't all that many people flocking to buy it.

Making a decent company out of PepsiCo Inc.

Hoping to convince the American corporation to green up its ways and commit to a zero deforestation policy, SumOfUS has an ongoing petition on its website. The petition asks that PepsiCo Inc. only buy sustainably-sourced palm oil, and has until now been signed by over 220,000 people.

Petition aside, the company claims that it's done nothing wrong and that, contrary to what tens of thousands of people might think about it, it really does want to embrace a greener working agenda. The thing is that, no matter how many pressures are put on it, it will take a few years for it to reach this goal.

“Pepsi True was subject to an orchestrated effort to post inaccurate information about our product and PepsiCo’s palm oil policy,” a spokesperson for the company told the press in an interview.

Furthermore, “Our critics would be hard pressed to find many companies who have taken PepsiCo’s holistic approach to land policy, forest stewardship and responsible sourcing.”

Environmentalists boycott Pepsi True launch (5 Images)

Pepsi True is said to be all natural, made with cane sugar and stevia
Many companies use palm oil to make food and beveragesSeveral studies have linked palm oil to deforestation
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