Not quite true, especially for bottles in the EU. They usually just ship one concentrate pulver per soda type, which is one ingredient of many. Most ingredients are sourced elsewhere throughout the world or locally.
As for syrup for soda stations in restaurants, I don’t know anything about the production process of those.
Just some personal anecdotes and comments on the matter.
In my opinion, there appears to be a societal trend towards more egoistical behaviour in people. Whereas in the past, more people strived to work for their greater community and society (at least here in Europe), in the last couple of years American individualism and with that, a more egoistic focus became more prevalent. Many people today wonder why they should give their time freely when they could use it for other interests, paid employment, or (quality) alone time. Even disregarding that some of their hobbies can only be done because others still volunteer their time (sports coaches, etc.).
The “I want to use my spare time for myself” attitude is one of the most heard answers when I am asking people why they won’t join us in volunteer work (be it community work or sports).
Thanks, I need to practice my English skills a bit. I’m getting rusty.
I can’t speak for wherever the original commentator ist from. In Germany most youth centres were partly or completely volunteer run. There are fewer people volunteering today, so the centres don’t find enough people to open up or supervise events/gatherings. And at some point then they’re closing forever.
On that note, looking for a volunteer group near you is also an awesome way to socialise.
It’s bottled locally in Germany as well. However all bottling plants that do, are owned by the bottler that is exclusively bottling Coke and other Coca-Cola Company products (and some others such as the energy drink Monster, but Coca-Cola has a stake in them).