Blog Posts: September 2012

By Eric Anderson

If there’s one David and Goliath fight coming up this election season, it’s California’s Prop 37. As you’ve probably heard by now, this initiative would require that foods containing genetically engineered (GE) ingredients be labeled as such in California, something that nearly 50 other nations have already done. Right now in the U.S., there are no requirements that GE foods be labeled, leaving consumers in the dark about what they are eating.

The fight over Prop 37 has created a sharp divide between consumers and corporations. On the one hand, polling shows that over 90 percent of people nationwide favor mandatory GE labeling. In California, support for Prop 37 hovers around 61 percent compared to 25 percent against. These high levels of support demonstrate that most consumers, regardless of political persuasion, agree that mandatory GE labeling in no way limits consumer choice and in fact helps consumers make more informed decisions about what they purchase. Read the full article…

By Mitch Jones

It seems every few months we get another report about how hard pressed America’s fishermen are. In April I pointed the troubling signs of increased salmon imports in early 2012. Now reports suggest that China is enjoying a robust year in seafood exports. Individual companies as well as regions within China are reporting double-digit percentage increases in exports. This news of increased pressure from China couldn’t come at a worse time for America’s domestic fishing industry.

Earlier this month Acting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank declared the Northeast Groundfish Fishery a disaster. On the same day she also declared a commercial fishery failure on Alaska’s Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers and in the Cook Inlet because of low Chinook salmon returns. These actions will allow the federal government to offer millions of dollars of relief to the fishermen in these fisheries. But temporary relief isn’t enough. We need to protect America’s fishermen from fishery management programs that fail to protect fish, while putting independent fishermen out of business.

But while we’re fighting this fight here in Washington and in the regional fisheries across the country, it’s important to watch what you buy. No matter where you shop, look for domestic seafood. If it’s salmon, ask for U.S. wild caught. If it’s catfish or tilapia, ask for U.S. farmed. And when in doubt, you can consult our Smart Seafood Guide.

By Gabriella Zanzanaini

Update: Firenze 10+10 brought together many civil society movements across Europe over 4 days of discussion and planning. Food & Water Europe coordinated the European Water Assembly where an agenda for 2013 was set for the water movement. We also participated in the convergence sessions on the Commons with groups working on food sovereignty, fracking, large infrastructures, health, education and sports. 

We invite all of you to join us on the following common European action dates decided in Firenze: 23-27 January 2013 will be a week against the financialization of nature and banks to coincide with the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, 22 March 2013 is World Water Day where decentralized actions on water will take place all over Europe with a common action in Brussels and 23 March 2013 will be an European Day of Action against the EU Summit in Brussels. Stay tuned and mark your calendars! 

What is Firenze 10+10 and How Is Food & Water Europe Central to It?

Food & Water Europe will participate in Firenze 10+10 by coordinating the pillar on the Commons; as part of the of the newly formed European Water Movement and through the Financialization of Nature network which fights to stop the “assetization” of our natural commons.

It has become increasingly evident that local movements need to coordinate at the European level as well. Local victories, though powerful, are no longer sufficient to withstand pressure coming from the Troika (European Commission, European Central Bank & International Monetary Fund), who is pushing through mass privatization through conditionalities for rescue funds.

Europe needs to build a new European Public Space. We need to look at the next 10 years with common objectives, agendas and strategies. The crisis –in its multiples facets – and austerity policies can be overcome, but we need to move beyond our fragmentation and our one-issue focuses to stand on common ground.

Ten years ago, Florence, Italy hosted the first ever European Social Forum. It constituted an extraordinary moment in the construction of a continent-wide demonstration, presenting analyses, proposals and solutions which – had they been translated into policies – would have helped to avoid the social and democratic crisis in which Europe finds itself now. 

Ten years on, there is neither nostalgia nor a desire to celebrate what we had then; even less do we intend today to repeat paths which belong to that time and that stage of development: the social movements have changed, new actors have emerged, there have been defeats but also victories, such as that of the water movement in Italy which won a crushing referendum against privatization last year.

So come join us in Firenze to build convergences and a common action for Europe. 

By Kate Fried

This past Saturday we convened a little event called the Global Frackdown. Maybe you heard about it? Thousands of activists on five continents came together for over 200 events to send one, definitive message—Ban Fracking Now.

The movement to ban fracking is growing nationwide—all because of the hard work of people like you. You and your peers, concerned citizens around the globe from all walks of life united in your desire to preserve the health of your communities, started to catch wind of the public health and environmental risks associated with fracking. You did your research, and even when you saw politicians on the news touting the so-called “benefits” of natural gas, you had your doubts. You talked to your neighbors, formed your own organizations and started speaking out in order to protect the health of future generations.

Then when you noticed the oil and gas industry ramping up its PR offensive, frantically running for its spin machine, you knew they were up to no good. After all, why would any industry so motivated by profits squander a cent on ads if they knew they didn’t have a serious public relations battle on their hands?

Yes, you’ve been fighting fracking for a while now, and the Global Frackdown gave you a chance to take action in concert with thousands of like-minded individuals around the globe. Maybe you were in Brussels, protesting outside the European Parliament; perhaps you said “non” to fracking in Paris or asked your elected officials not to frack with the Karoo in South Africa. Was that you we spotted in Buffalo, once again asking Governor Andrew Cuomo to ban fracking in New York? Or maybe you were one of the legions of activists who participated virtually.

Regardless of where you were, you joined with thousands of like-minded souls whose voices coalesced into one. You made your message clear—that you don’t want fracking anywhere on earth.

Ultimately, you know and we know that the fight to ban fracking is just getting started. The oil and gas industry has a seemingly endless supply of cash, but we have one thing on our side that they don’t—irrefutable facts, evidence that fracking is destroying our planet and our collective future. We won’t stand for it, and neither will you. And so, the fight continues. Thank you. Of course, we would also like to thank the more than 150 partner organizations around the world for their help in making the Global Frackdown possible.

By Maude Barlow

From left to right: Barbara Gysi, Cedric Wermuth, Yvonne Feri, Jacques Neyrinck, Maude Barlow, Rosmarie, Balthasar Glättli and Franklin Frederick. Photo Courtesy of Council of Canadians.

Maude Barlow is the National Chairperson of Council of Canadians and Board Chair of Food & Water Watch. This post originally appeared on the Council of Canadians’ blog.

I have just returned from a week in Switzerland to promote the right to water and to challenge the giant Swiss bottled water giant Nestlé. My visit was arranged by Franklin Frederick, an activist and leader in the global fight against Nestlé Waters, who is originally from Brazil, but now lives and works in Switzerland. Franklin is an extraordinary man. He is fiercely committed to global water justice and has been a thorn in the side of the water privateers for years. I also reconnected with Rosmarie Bar, a former Green Member of the Swiss Parliament and former senior member of the Swiss development network, Alliance Sud. Rosmarie and I worked together to form an international group called Friends of the Right to Water and worked for many years to lay the groundwork for the recognition of this right at the UN.

I spoke at the universities of Bern and Lucerne and in a beautiful 500 year-old church located in the heart of Bern. In the magnificent wood paneled Swiss Parliament, I also met with a delegation of MPs from every party who are committed to protecting public water and the human right to water. In all these venues, I met wonderful, committed people working for economic and social justice.

However, it is very clear that Nestlé is a powerful presence in Switzerland and its influence in the halls of power goes deep. Everyone I talked to said so in one way or another. Switzerland has no law limiting political donations from corporations, or requiring transparency in campaign financing. Given that the marketing department of Nestlé has a larger annual budget than the World Health Organization, it is widely understood that the company has great political influence.

Read the full article…

By Gabriella Zanzanaini

Update: On the 10 December 2012, mayors from Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Genoa, Ghent, Leicester, Nantes, Naples, Paris and Vienna have joined forces with civil society and trade union campaigners to call for the implementation of the Human Right to Water and Sanitation into European Law.

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Have you heard of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI)? It’s a new tool launched by the European Commission to help citizens play a more active role in European political processes. Available since April 2012, it enables citizens to put an issue on the political agenda through an “ECI,” which involves collecting 1 million signatures from at least seven different EU Member States. 

Not only do you need 1 million signatures, but an ECI has to be organised by at least seven people from seven different EU Member States. This group forms a so-called citizens’ committee, which is in charge of proposing the ECI and collecting signatures.

The first ECI approved by the European Commission is on the human right to water. Led by the European Public Services Federation, the citizens’ committee is formed largely by public service trade unions and supported by a broad variety of organizations working on implementation of the human right to water.

Food & Water Europe is working to support and promote this ECI because governments in the EU have to meet their obligation to provide water and sanitation services to all. The human right to water and sanitation means that all people are entitled to clean and safe water and sanitation. These services must be available, accessible, affordable and acceptable for the people. Currently, the criteria for clean and safe water and sanitation differ widely among and even within countries.

Read the full article…

By Mark Schlosberg

 The oil and gas industry knows it has a fracking problem. Oil and gas companies and their apologists are spending tens of millions of dollars on misleading propaganda touting the supposed benefits of fracking and natural gas as a so-called “bridge fuel.” They are spending millions more lobbying elected officials to open new lands to fracking. They are even trying to convince the public that natural gas is clean energy.

Tomorrow, communities across the world are fighting back with one unified message: our movement is growing, our movement is strong, and we do not accept fracking and its impacts on our water, air, health and communities. It’s time to ban fracking now.

Read the full article…

By Anna Ghosh

Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, Pepsi and Coke are scared. They’re afraid that California’s proposition 37 to make labeling of genetically engineered foods mandatory will end their unchecked, unquestioned power to hide GE ingredients in the majority processed foods without their customers’ knowledge. Which is why they’ve poured millions into an anti-Prop 37 propaganda campaign they’re calling “Stop the Deceptive Food Labeling Scheme.” But who’s deceiving whom? Read the full article…

By Genna Reed

Because of restrictions in technology use agreements, researchers are often unable to get access to seeds for independent feeding trials to test the safety of genetically engineered (GE) food and animal feed. One of the few scientists that has succeeded in obtaining seed and doing longer term feeding studies on rats is Gilles-Eric Séralini and his team from the University of Caen’s Institute of Biology in France.

His new two-year feeding study was just published in the most recent issue of the peer-reviewed academic journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology. Past studies were cited in our GE Foods Overview report including a 2007 study, which found significant liver and kidney impairment of rats that were fed insect-resistant Bt corn, concluding that, “with the present data it cannot be concluded that GE corn MON863 is a safe product.” Another study published in 2009 found that glyphosate caused DNA damage to human cells even at lower exposure levels than those recommended by the herbicide’s manufacturer. Read the full article…

By Seth Gladstone and Eric Weltman

Good news from the fight against the aggressive corporate consolidation of our nation’s food system: in America’s largest city, Walmart has been beaten back! Last week, the oppressive retail giant and the country’s second-largest company (trailing only the fossil fuel mega-giant Exxon Mobil) announced that it was giving up on its multi-year effort to build its first New York City store, in Brooklyn. Along with the many labor, community, social justice and environmental organizations aligned in the fight against Walmart, consumer and food safety groups like ours are declaring victory in this battle for New York City. But the struggle continues.

For years now, Food & Water Watch has been examining the anti-competitive, anti-sustainability and anti-health impact Walmart exerts on communities across the nation. Despite its drumbeat of claims to the contrary, our analysis has repeatedly shown that Walmart isn’t a good neighbor to anyone.

Read the full article…