Blog Posts: September 2010

CNBC’s Power Lunch provided a forum today for yet another debate on the subject of bottled water versus the tap, following a special segment called Liquid Assets. Food & Water Watch Senior Legislative and Policy Analyst Mitch Jones squared off against International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) President and CEO Joe Doss in front of program hosts Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, Sue Herera and Tyler Mathisen.

Food & Water Watch Senior Legislative and Policy Analyst Mitch Jones squares off against International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) President and CEO Joe Doss on CNBC’s Power Lunch. In our opinion, Jones wins.

Read the full article…

Interview with Marianne Cufone

Marianne Cufone is the Fish Program Director for Food & Water Watch. One of the main fish program campaigns examines catch share programs—or catch and trade—and the impact they have on our food supply, fishing communities and the environment. Read the full article…

Treating water like a commodity will not help us address the challenges we face of meeting the growing demand for water in the future. Priceless: The Myth of Water Pricing Reform, a Food & Water Watch report, refutes the idea that managing demand by raising residential water rates will, alone, help conserve and protect this vital resource. Read the full article…

The Beverage Marketing Corporation reported that U.S. bottled water sales declined in 2009 for the second consecutive year. What’s bad for bottled water is likely good for planet earth.

Once you’re found out, it’s all downhill from there. The Beverage Marketing Corporation reported that U.S. bottled water sales declined in 2009 for the second consecutive year—5.2 percent in revenues and 2.5 percent of volume sold. Water activists and eco-conscious consumers can celebrate the news due to bottled water’s immense and negative impact on the environment, and its strain on public water resources. While the industry is quick to point to the struggling economy as a primary reason for the decline, the impact of consumer awareness over bottled water’s environmental footprint cannot be ignored. Read the full article…

Water is a vital resource, and we at Food & Water Watch work to keep this resource publicly owned and accessible to all, whether in rich countries or poor. This week, however, focus was on the world’s poorest, as leaders met in New York to discuss the Millennium Development Goals. Read the full article…

The New York Times reported this week that the city of Paris is now offering residents free sparkling water. While the program is ostensibly designed to wean Parisiennes off a popular guilty pleasure (red wine) we’re charmed that they’ve chosen the humble water fountain as the delivery method of choice for their efforts.

Let them drink water! (Wait, it's SPARKLING water !) Eau de Paris, the local water utility, offers free sparkling water at a public fountain in Reuilly Gardens. The fountain is a way to encourage Parisiennes to kick the bottled water habit.

Read the full article…

Food & Water Watch has been trying for months to get Brazilian meat products removed from American shelves due to systemic problems with their food safety system. On September 13, they found yet another reason to try again: USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced another recall of Brazilian meat products. A meatpacking plant that had been cited for excessive animal drug residues —three recalls to be exact — shipped 258,000 pounds of beef to the U.S. This plant was supposed to be blacklisted by our import inspectors, but its beef reached our food system anyway.

Brazil’s meat products should be removed from American shelves due to systemic problems with their food safety system. Beef from meatpacking plants that should be blacklisted by our import inspectors could be finding its way to our food system anyway.

Read the full article…

In case anyone was wondering just how skewed the battle is over water privatization, we just got an indication of just how sweet the victory in Trenton, New Jersey really was. It seems that the privatization proponent — The Committee for Trenton Yes—the front group set up by New Jersey American Water to finance the ‘yes’ vote—spent 30 times more money on their campaign than local opposition group Stop the Sale. Read the full article…

September 16 is a big day in the effort to stop the FDA from approving GE salmon. Food & Water Watch is holding a National Day of Action to oppose the approval of genetically engineered salmon by the FDA. We implore consumers to make sure we have a say in this fight against an experimental food mutation that is currently making its way through the FDA.

If you are concerned because GE salmon has not been proven safe for human consumption, and that the FDA has been secretive throughout much of the approval process, you can take action to stop the process so we can ask critical questions about GE salmon.

Today, September 16, consumers are taking time out of their busy workday to make their voices heard. We are asking people around the country to contact the Obama administration to tell the President to stop the FDA from approving GE salmon.

Consumers concerned about GE salmon because it has not been proven safe for human consumption should contact the Obama administration and tell the President to stop the FDA from approving GE salmon.

If you live in the Washington, D.C. area, you can participate with us in our rally and press conference today, September 16, at 3:15pm. Following the event, Ben & Jerry’s — who are supporting us in this effort — will be giving away free Phish Food ice cream and we’ll be generating phone calls to the White House to oppose GE salmon.

We encourage all consumers to be informed about this issue as much as possible. We have devoted an entire section of our website to providing information about GE salmon. It is clear that we have to move quickly and stop that fish before it reaches the food system.

-Rich Bindell

Antibiotic resistance has become a real challenge for modern medicine. As bacteria grow stronger, there are few options for treating very sick people. Over the past decade, medical professionals have raised awareness about the need to curb the over-prescription of antibiotics. Likewise, tireless activists have fought to decrease the use of antibiotics in industrial agriculture. But dwindling options for medical treatment aren’t the only worry associated with antibiotic resistance. Many things in nature depend on bacterial to grow. Plants need bacteria in soil to grow. Read the full article…