Releases

Bluefin quotas are meaningless – EU misses another critical opportunity

2009-11-20

FWE today said that quotas to limit the catch of bluefin tuna will not be enough to help save these fish, and that stronger leadership from the EU would be supported by many worldwide.

Food & Water Watch Releases Fresh New Collection of Affordable, Sustainable Seafood Recipes for Holiday Season

2009-11-20

Press Release: Just in time for the holiday season, Food & Water Watch today released its new collection of affordable, sustainable seafood recipes, Fish & Tips on a Budget: The Frugal Fish Edition. The innovative collection, which is available for free online, brings together the creations of the winners of Food & Water Watch’s Frugal Fish recipe contest, as well as recipes from Chef Rocky Barnette and Food & Water Watch Fish Program Director Marianne Cufone.

Opposition to Desalination Escalates in Rockland County, New York

2009-11-18

Media Statement: “Public resistance to desalination mounted last week when two towns in Rockland County, New York, issued resolutions voicing opposition to the proposed Haverstraw Water Supply Project. The towns of Ramapo and Stony Point passed resolutions speaking out against the project. An initiative of the private corporation United Water, the project would supply water to the Rockland County area by desalinating water from the Hudson River just north of New York City. Proponents tout the project as a means of supplying long-term drinking water to the area. Yet, there are major problems with the proposal.

EU Member States fail to protect Atlantic Bluefin tuna

2009-11-17

Statement of Food & Water Europe Executive Director Wenonah Hauter – (Brussels, Belgium) The failure of EU Member State representatives on Monday (21 September) to reach an agreement on how to handle the proposal to temporarily ban the international trade of Atlantic Bluefin tuna is disappointing.

Ohio Elections Commission Pursues Frivolous Case Against Consumer Group

2009-11-05

Statement: Today, the Ohio Elections Commission acted to deny Food & Water Watch’s constitutional right of free speech to discuss the connection between confined animal feeding operations (CAFO) and swine flu. The Commission’s panel decided to allow the Ohioans for Livestock Care (OLC) PAC, a front group for the industrialized livestock industry, to pursue it’s claim that radio ads about Issue 2 may have contained a false statement.

Proposed Carlsbad Desalination Project to Cost Up To Three Times More Than Claimed

2009-11-05

Press Release: Water produced at Poseidon Resources proposed desalination facility in Carlsbad, Calif. could cost up to three times more than previously claimed by the company, according to an independent expert analysis released today by Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group. This finding comes as the Metropolitan Water District is poised to decide whether to grant Poseidon $350 million in subsidies for their proposed $534 million, 50 MGD desalination facility in Carlsbad.

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Milwaukee Water System Lease Could Cost Community Millions Per Year

2009-11-04

Press Release: Leasing the Milwaukee Water Works to a private company for 99 years could cost the Milwaukee community a total of $17 million to $31 million a year, finds a new report released today by the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch. Entitled Mortgaging Milwaukee’s Future: Why Leasing the Water System is a Bad Deal for Consumers, the report reveals that for every dollar the city receives from an endowment from the lease of the Water Works, consumers could have to pay as much as $5.40 in water bills.

Issue 2 Passes: Agribusiness Rewrites Ohio's Constitution

2009-11-04

Statement: The Farm Bureau-sponsored campaign to change Ohio’s constitution and give industrialized agriculture control over livestock issues succeeded with the passage of ballot Issue 2. Consumers, small family farmers and the neighbors of large, industrialized animal operations are the losers.

Issue 2 PAC Tries to Distract Ohio Voters By Stifling Ads

2009-11-02

Press Statement: As the campaign over Issue 2, a proposal to create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, comes down to the wire, the livestock industry is trying one last trick to squelch the debate. Recently, Food & Water Watch placed radio ads throughout Ohio to warn Ohio voters that Issue 2 would create a board that is dominated by factory farms. The Ohioans for Livestock Care PAC pressured the media to pull our message off the air by contacting Clear Channel Communications, Inc., owner of the radio stations currently set to run our ads. Now, they have filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission alleging that the ads contain "false statements" about how Issue 2 would put the livestock industry in charge of writing its own rules, and that factory farms put the public at risk for diseases like E. coli and swine flu.

Poseidon Resources Ups Carlsbad Desal Cost to $550 Million: Asks State for Additional Subsidy for Proposed Project

2009-10-30

Press Release: This week, Poseidon Resources, which is seeking a tax-free bond from the state to pay for its proposed Carlsbad desalination plant, increased its request by $70 million to $550 million. This change comes just weeks before the request goes before the three-member committee that will decide if a taxpayer subsidized bond will be approved. Poseidon has not provided any explanation on what caused the plant’s estimated cost to rise.

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Retired Indiana Teacher Wows Judges with Recession-Friendly Fish Recipe

2009-10-30

News Release: Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization, today announced Gloria Piantek of West Lafayette, Indiana as the grand-prize winner of its Frugal Fish contest. An innovative recipe competition, the challenge combined creative cooking with health and sustainability components and a low budget. Piantek, a retired teacher, took the prize with her Spicy BBQ Tilapia with Herb-Roasted Potatoes and Southern Creamy Cole Slaw, which she originally put on a home-baked bun as a spin on a traditional hot dog. The entire meal for four cost just $12.32—and for her ingenuity, Piantek will take home a check for $250.

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Food & Water Watch Joins with Local Community Leaders and Businesses to Launch Grand Rapids Take Back the Tap Campaign

2009-10-21

Press Release: Today, Food & Water Watch, the Wege Foundation, the Grand Rapids City Commission, Gilmore Collection restaurants, Grand Rapids Community College and Saint Mary’s Health Care joined together to launch Take Back the Tap Grand Rapids. The campaign highlights the social, economic, and environmental problems with the bottled water industry; the need for increased funding for public tap water; and the importance of celebrating and protecting Michigan’s watersheds.

Nestle Videos a Spin Job to Compensate for Wasteful, Unnecessary Product 


2009-10-16

Press statement: Yesterday, Nestle Waters North America announced the release of a series of videos aimed at consumers touting among other things, the so-called ‘safety’ of its plastic water bottles, the advantages of plastic bottles over glass bottles, and its own corporate efforts to promote recycling programs. While Nestle is promoting these videos as part of its ongoing ‘dedication’ to ‘environmental stewardship,’ we see them for what they really are—damage control to compensate for the company’s recent 2.7 percent decline in sales.

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Governor’s water priorities all wrong; He fails to recognize basic water needs while pushing billions for pet water projects

2009-10-15

Press Release: Sacramento, CA – Governor Schwarzenegger revealed his flawed priorities for water in California when he vetoed the Human Right to Water Bill late Sunday night. The bill would have made it the explicit policy of the state of California to ensure that all people have access to safe affordable water for basic human needs, including drinking water. Reflecting the broad-based support for the bill, AB 1242, authored by Assembly Member Ira Ruskin, was co-sponsored by seven organizations including Alliance for Democracy, Community Water Center, Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, Food and Water Watch, San Jerardo Cooperative, Inc., Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry Action Network, California Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and Urban Semillas.