THE HISTORY OF THE GLOBALIZED WESTERN DIET

Abigail Gall

Gelsey Hess

Greig Edwards

Kaitlyn Korber

     As advances in technology continue to increase connectivity and dependency between societies around the world, it is the history of the globalization of the western diet in particular that has enabled these reliant networks and systems.  Through the study of this movement, soft drinks, in particular, Coca-Cola has been chosen as a case study to analyze the history, effects, and potential future of this product in the world.  This topic was then further broken down into several sections in order to cover the areas of; a general history of the globalization of the western diet, a brief history of the global marketing of Coca-Cola, a history of the health impacts of a westernized diet and soda consumption, and a history of the environmental impacts of Coca-Cola consumption.  As the first topic offers an overview on the history of the globalization of the western diet, the remaining sections use Coca-Cola as a precedent to more specifically analyze the general, health, and environmental impacts the product has made.  Through studying just one example of a product that has altered not only the global market, but also the people and environment it comes in contact with, connections can be made between the history of the globalization of the western diet and the increased interconnectivity of systems our societies have come so dependent upon.