Durban - US brands Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Caltex and Colgate Palmolive have become the targets of a consumer boycott launched by KwaZulu-Natal academic Geoff Harris in response to the US's attack on Iraq.
The boycott has the support of People Against War, a coalition opposed to the US's action, and is also likely to be backed by other anti-war organisations.
Adam Habib, the director of the Centre for Civil Society, said it would definitely support a consumer boycott of goods that were symbolic expressions of the US.
Harris, a professor of economics at the University of Natal, said: "A majority of individuals around the world oppose a military attack on Iraq. They believe there are other ways to achieve the desired results. In many cases, their governments are not listening to them. Maybe a consumer boycott will make a difference."
He conceded that influencing governments through boycotts was difficult. But if there was a fall in profits repatriated to the US, companies might put pressure on Washington to rethink policies.
Vukani Magubane, the head of corporate communications for Coca-Cola in southern and east Africa, said Coca-Cola was a partner with local bottlers and in this sense it was a local business.
Wynand Pretorius, the managing director of Yum Restaurants International in southern Africa, the franchisor for Kentucky Fried Chicken, said Yum did not take a stance on political issues.
Recently Yum International said southern Africa was the sixth-largest market for Kentucky Fried Chicken in store numbers worldwide last year. The region would have been the second-biggest contributor to operating profit after China if the rand had not depreciated.
Pretorius said the call for a boycott was irresponsible as it affected the livelihoods of franchisees and their employees.
Harris acknowledged this impact but said the net effect on South Africa would be zero as consumers would stop buying one product but would replace it with another.
McDonald's declined to comment.