LONDON: Land as big as the size of Italy has been taken from indigenous communities around the world by Coca Cola and Pepsi, according to a major new report.

The two companies have been criticized by Oxfam for their links to land disputes.

The charity has alleged that nearly 800 large-scale land deals by foreign investors have seen 33 million hectares taken into corporate ownership globally since 2000.

According to the Independent, the research claims that poor communities from Brazil to Cambodia are losing their homes to make way for lucrative sugar crops.

Anti-poverty campaigners are now calling for major multinational companies to do more to stop indigenous communities from around the world from being forced from their homes.