Press Releases
Below are Food & Water Watch Press releases:
Hearing on Ocean Fish Farming Promotes Controversial Industry Despite Known Problems
2009-09-11
Press Statement: “This week, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife held an oversight hearing in an effort to show that ocean fishing farming – the mass production of fish in floating cages or pens in open ocean waters – would be a viable and valuable industry for the U.S. if national standards are set.
Trenton Water Utility Sale Would Undermine Public Trust Doctrine
2009-09-11
Press Release: New legal analysis in papers filed today in the Appellate Division for the New Jersey Superior Court by Food & Water Watch demonstrate that denying citizens of Trenton the right to vote on the sale of the city’s water utility to the private corporation American Water undermines fundamental principles in state law guaranteeing that water resources are economically and prudently managed for the benefit of the public. The “amicus curiae” or “friend of the court” brief filed by the consumer advocacy group further supports a citizen’s movement in Trenton to require a referendum to determine the fate of the water system there.
Activists Celebrate Nestle’s Withdrawal From McCloud, Calif.
2009-09-11
Press Release: Food & Water Watch and the McCloud Watershed Council achieved a major victory today when Nestle Waters of North America announced it would withdraw its proposal to build a bottling facility in McCloud, Calif. The news came after 6 years of intense public debate regarding the plant and its potential impact on water resources in the area. At one point the deal would have allowed Nestle to pump up to 200 million gallons of water from nearby Mt. Shasta springs- enough water for 614 typical U.S. families.
Food & Water Watch Joins No Impact Man to Promote Sustainable Food and Water Systems
2009-09-11
Press Release: Today, Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter hosted the premier screening of the documentary film No Impact Man at the Angelika Film Center in New York, NY. The event marked the launch of the consumer advocacy organization’s joint effort with author Colin Beaven to promote the need for safe food and clean water resources. Following the film Hauter spoke with the audience about the social and environmental impacts of consumer food and water choices.
Private produce safety rules burden smaller-scale, diversified farms, threaten conservation, lack transparency, new report finds
2009-09-10
Press Release: Private industry food safety protocols for produce farmers are not based on independent science and are biased against smaller-scale, diversified farms and those using sustainable production methods, finds a new report issued today by Food & Water Watch and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. “Bridging the GAPs: Strategies to Improve Produce Safety, Preserve Farm Diversity and Strengthen Local Food Systems,” by Elanor Starmer and Marie Kulick, analyzes common, non-regulatory food safety protocols for produce growers including, the federal Good Agriculture Practices, the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, industry “super metrics,” and international food safety protocols.
EU Agricultural Council Fails Milk Farmers
2009-09-10
Statement of Food & Water Europe Executive Director Wenonah Hauter – “The 7 September Agricultural Council showed once again that the fate of small and medium-size dairy farmers in the European Union is of little concern to governments or the European Commission."
Commercial and Recreational Fishermen and Renowned Scientist Join With Food & Water Watch For Hill Briefing on Ocean Fish Farming and Alternate Approaches
2009-09-08
Press Release: Today, at 11:30 a.m. in Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2103, Food & Water Watch joined with other fish experts for a briefing on the socioeconomic and ecological effects of open-ocean fish farming and alternate, more sustainable approaches to domestic seafood production. The briefing was in preparation for the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife’s “Oversight Hearing on Offshore Aquaculture” tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Obama Administration Allows Factory Fish Farms in Gulf of Mexico
2009-09-03
Press Statement: Today, the very agency tasked with conservation and management of our national fish resources, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), failed to protect fishing communities and the marine environment by allowing an unpopular and potentially harmful ocean fish farming plan for the Gulf of Mexico to pass into effect. NMFS was involved for the entire five years this plan was under discussion, and had since January of 2009 to decide whether ocean fish farming is the right thing to do for the Gulf. Time for indecision ran out today. Rather than taking a stand, the agency looked the other way and chose to stay silent, letting the plan pass by default. The agency’s silence is a choice in itself: to allow development of what are essentially factory farms of the sea—dirty, crowded mass-production facilities that can harm the environment and produce lower-quality fish for consumers. The plan lacks specifics about important issues: unknown types of facilities will be able to grow unspecified types of fish in locations approved by NMFS on a case-by-case basis, from three to 200 miles offshore in the Gulf. The development of these facilities will likely cause major ecological problems, and could undercut prices local fishermen receive for their catch, threatening an already vulnerable job market.
Food & Water Watch Lauds Canadian Medical Association’s Stance Against Triclosan
2009-09-01
Press Statement: Last week, the Canadian Medical Association called for a federal ban on the use of antimicrobials in personal care products such as those containing the pesticide triclosan. A federal ban in Canada would place much needed pressure on regulatory bodies in the United States to tackle this pressing human and environmental health problem.
Obama Administration Ignores Opposition From Fishermen and Others, Approves Destructive Fishery Management Plan for Gulf of Mexico
2009-09-01
Press Statement: Yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries) overrode opposition from many fishermen and others and relied on a highly questionable referendum to approve an unfair and potentially harmful plan for managing the Gulf of Mexico’s tilefish and grouper fisheries. The plan, known as ‘Individual Fishing Quotas’ (IFQs) or ‘catch shares,’ determines who is allowed to fish, and how much, based on ‘catch history,’ or how much an individual or business has caught in the past. This method inherently favors those who fish the hardest and fastest and squeezes out many smaller-scale and historic fishermen. Worst of all, the process by which the plan was created and approved was biased and unfair. The Gulf’s Fishery Management Council held a sham referendum on the plan in which eligibility for voting was skewed to exclude nearly 70 percent of fishermen whose jobs were at stake if the plan passed.