Press Releases: All

Press Release: Kids in Chuluota, Florida are getting sick from drinking local water. People in certain parts of Fort Wayne, Indiana and Cambridge, New York are experiencing, or expect to face, egregious water rate hikes. What do these communities have in common? Their water is serviced subsidiaries of the private water company Aqua America.

Press Release: Today the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) recommended that fish from open water aquaculture be certified as organic, setting a precedent that would lower the bar on organic standards, according to the national consumer advocacy organization Food & Water Watch.

Press Release: Press Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter: fter months of intense criticism for lack of action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the melamine milk scandal, the agency has finally banned all milk products manufactured in China. Unfortunately, FDA is getting into the habit of making these critical decisions too late in the game.

Press Release: As water companies are on the prowl for new water sources, the latest development is a victory for local control. On November 4, Wells residents cast their ballots in favor of a 180-day moratorium on all water extraction activities.

Press Release: Despite the support of the media, members of the investment community and at least one NBA star, residents of Akron, Ohio rejected a measure to privatize their city‚ sewer system on Tuesday. Issue 8 was defeated by 62 percent to 38 percent. Issue 9, a citizen‚ initiative to ensure that all utility privatizations in Akron are subject to public referendum passed by a 2-1 margin.

Press Release: Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization, along with an unusual coalition of fishermen, conservation groups, many concerned citizens, and a key member of Congress, helped in moving the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to delay final action on a plan to permit ocean fish farming in Gulf waters until January 2009.

Press Release: Press Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter: Food & Water Watch applauds Representative Nick Rahall (D-WV), Chair of the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee, for strongly advising the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to stop approval of a regional plan to permit offshore aquaculture in federal Gulf waters.

Press Release: Food & Water Watch is calling on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to protect fishing, ocean resources and coastal communities rather than promote personal interests. At its meeting from October 27-30, 2008 in Mobile, Alabama, the Gulf Council, an advisory body to the federal government that helps create regional fishing regulations, is scheduled to approve a plan that would permit ocean fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico.

Press Release: Press Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter: Three weeks after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued a recall notice for the melamine-contaminated product Koala‚ March cookies that had been imported from China, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has finally issued a nationwide recall of Koala’s March brand cookies here in the United States. Unfortunately, the agency‚ action is too little, too late and proves once again that consumers cannot trust FDA‚ credibility when it comes to food safety.

Press Release: Just two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration set ‚acceptable” levels for melamine in food instead of issuing a complete ban on Chinese milk-containing products, the Alabama Department of Agriculture announced that Koala‚ March brand cookies have tested positive for melamine with levels that exceed FDA‚ safe levels of exposure.