Against All Odds: An Interview With Wenonah Hauter

Published Jan 27, 2025

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Food SystemClean Water

In 2005, Wenonah Hauter founded Food & Water Watch to fight corporate greed and protect our food and water. 20 years later, we’re still fighting — and winning.

In 2005, Wenonah Hauter founded Food & Water Watch to fight corporate greed and protect our food and water. 20 years later, we’re still fighting — and winning.

This year marks an important milestone in the fight for sustainable food, clean water, and a livable climate — Food & Water Watch turns 20! Despite corporate and moneyed interests working against us, we have protected the resources we hold most dear for two decades. 

In light of a second Trump administration, we are, as Executive Director Wenonah Hauter said, “In the fight of our lives.” At this critical juncture in the climate crisis, Trump will throw open the doors for more harm to our food, water, and climate, and the most vulnerable among us will suffer the worst. 

Continuing the fight is not only something we must do — it’s something we’ll take joy in while achieving major, tangible wins. 

The last 20 years have shown us what’s possible when we work together. In that time, we’ve grown from a dozen dedicated organizers to more than two million supporters. Together, we’re shaping the environmental movement and protecting our food, water, and climate.

Now, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary with joy and fortitude for the work ahead. To celebrate with us, we invite you to join us virtually or in New York City for our annual benefit. 

We’ll honor Ken Schles, a New York activist and photographer who has captured the story and spirit of our fight for a livable future, and Jackie Kendall and Steve Max, lifelong activists and co-authors of Organizing for Social Change: Midwest Academy Training Manual, which has sold over 500,000 copies and serves as the foundational training for Food & Water Watch organizers. 

You can join us in celebration and solidarity with inspiring virtual sessions coming to you in your home. Or you can join us at an in-person gathering in New York City, complete with great food, drinks, and the company of fellow activists.

Celebrate 20 years of Food & Water Watch and the work ahead! Join us for our annual benefit to protect the planet, Against All Odds, in New York City on May 6 (6:00pm) or virtually on May 13 (3:30pm ET).

Twenty Years of Food & Water Watch with Executive Director Wenonah Hauter

In 2005, a small group of dedicated activists moved from Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, to start an environmental advocacy group. Food & Water Watch began with a dozen organizers helmed by Wenonah Hauter. In the twenty years since, we have grown to more than two million supporters, 2,700 volunteers, and more than 100 staff including organizers, lawyers, researchers, and more.

Ahead of our 20th anniversary benefit, we sat down with Wenonah to celebrate this milestone, look back at Food & Water Watch’s incredible progress, and look forward to the years ahead. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Wenonah Hauter headshot
Why did you start Food & Water Watch?

Wenonah: I saw the need for an organization that would not be afraid to call for the bold solutions we need to protect our most important resources, food and water; an organization that would build the political power to win on these issues. I wanted to take on the biggest corporate abusers and polluters — Big Ag and the fossil fuel industry.

Too often in my career, I heard people in authority say, “It’s impossible to take on that issue.” But I knew that to win meaningful change, we needed to call for real solutions that would inspire people to get involved and take action.

With Food & Water Watch, I wanted to open the political space to talk about big issues like getting off of fossil fuels and stopping corporate greed; I wanted the organization to be a thought leader in the progressive community.

I also saw the need to prioritize grassroots organizing. That’s how we can mobilize people power around the water and food issues that impact people’s everyday lives. And to do that, I knew we’d need to build majority power while working in partnership with frontline communities who are most impacted by the litany of threats to our food, water, and climate. So that’s what Food & Water Watch does.

Why is Food & Water Watch’s work essential?

W: We fight like we live here on life and death issues: clean, affordable water, sustainable food, and a livable climate. 

For 20 years, we’ve successfully worked to stop the many forms of water privatization. We’ve also been working long and hard to get permanent federal investment for water infrastructure. Everyone deserves clean, safe, affordable water and should be able to depend on their tap.

We also have an ambitious agenda on food. Nothing short of getting rid of factory farms will enable us to create a more just and equitable food system that protects our air, water, communities, family farmers, and climate.

We stand with frontline communities to stop corporate abuses like the building of fossil fuel infrastructure near homes and schools. The health effects and environmental damage caused by fracking, pipelines, and other oil and gas infrastructure are devastating. It’s well-documented that environmental justice communities and low-income areas are disproportionately affected by the oil and gas industry.

Food, water, and climate are environmental justice issues, and they affect everyone’s ability to live and thrive.

Why is this work personally important to you?

W: I grew up very poor. From the time I was 11, we lived in a very rural area in Virginia. I didn’t have indoor plumbing until I left home as an adult. And I used to carry water from a spring. I learned to have a very deep respect for water.

I went away and did manage to go to college, but worked as a waitress to pay my way through it. So through all these experiences, I developed a lot of empathy for people who are struggling to survive.

I also grew up and was politicized in the 1960s and early ‘70s, and I deeply believe in environmental, economic, and racial justice. I’ve devoted my life to these issues.

When did you know Food & Water Watch would make a difference? 

W: Initially, Food & Water Watch had a staff of 12, and we didn’t have a large membership of activists around the country. So we decided to begin with a media campaign. I remember very well the excitement of planning that first campaign, which was called “Hold the Hormones.” 

The goal was to make Starbucks stop using milk produced from the genetically modified hormone Monsanto was selling. The hormone caused pain and suffering for dairy cows, and there were potential health effects for humans that hadn’t been explored. We didn’t think people should be guinea pigs. 

After two years of rallies around the country, reports, and all sorts of activities, Starbucks felt the pressure. They announced they would stop using this artificial hormone. 

This changed the dairy industry and dried up the market for artificially produced hormones in milk. At that point, I could see that we could use a smart strategy and make a real difference.

How has the organization built power over the past 20 years & how do we continue to do so?

W: Food & Water Watch is unique because we put so many of our resources towards organizing — building people power on the ground. We have a strategic organizing training program that all of our staff go through. We have a strong volunteer program and we offer leadership training to volunteers. 

Importantly, we don’t take corporate money. Our members support our work, and donors have a huge impact. We couldn’t do the work without them.

Besides organizing, we use litigation and legal tactics to support our work. Our robust communications and research teams also play an important role in getting the facts out there and changing the narrative. We create multi-faceted, coordinated campaigns that involve identifying policies that will improve people’s lives and fighting for them. 

Today our food, water, and climate are under even greater threat than when Food & Water Watch was founded. What lessons have we learned along the way that help us take on the challenges we face now?

W: Some things don’t change. In 2005, like today, it was clear that we needed a smart strategy and the ability to bring large numbers of people into our movement to build the political power we needed to win. So that has been and always will be the foundation of our work.

In the last 20 years, we’ve refined our strategic planning, which means we’ve gotten better than ever at identifying who has the political power to make the decision we want, and how we pressure them to make that decision.

We’ve also learned the importance of both long- and short-term goals. Having short-term goals provides a way to measure progress. Marking and celebrating these milestones gives all of us a sense of our power; how we can make a difference. 

Then, wins build upon one another, leading to even bigger wins and more political power, and ultimately to wins on our long-term goals.

This work is key to altering the relations of power and creating a long-lasting organization. We need to be around for the long term because there are always going to be challenges for our food, water, and climate.

In the last 20 years, what are the accomplishments you have been most proud of? What fights, events, and moments stand out to you as you look back? 

W: Food & Water Watch’s organizing model has proven successful. We have banned fracking in New York, Maryland, and California. We’ve stopped numerous dirty power plants, pipelines, and other projects, and we’ve passed restrictions on factory farms in Oregon and Maryland. We’ve blocked water privatization attempts in over three dozen jurisdictions, and we’ve won significant legal victories to protect our water from factory farms. 

Our research has exposed corporate profiteering off of our food and water; we’ve uncovered fossil fuel industry schemes that undermine our ability to face climate change. 

Food & Water Watch has made bold policy demands rooted in science that achieve real change — even when we have been alone in making them — and we’ve moved the mainstream environmental movement to many of our positions.

20 years is a long time to be a leader in these fights. What brings you hope and the energy to keep fighting when it feels hard to do so? 

W: I believe each of us must do what we can in our lifetime to create a fair and just world; the kind of world that we want to live in.

I enjoy this work, even at its hardest — but I also know the importance of pacing ourselves. So I sustain it by doing things that sustain me. I love to exercise. I eat well and I prioritize sleep. And I do things that are fun and joyful. 

We’re celebrating 20 years of Food & Water Watch. What do the next 20 years look like?

W: We’re going to keep organizing people around the issues that impact their daily lives — water, food, and a livable climate. That means increasing our political power through a combination of growing the Food & Water Watch staff and volunteer program.

Each year, we grow the number and location of volunteers and develop more leaders. The program mobilizes and develops activists nationwide, with teams in key Congressional districts, states, and communities. Together, we’re building our power to pressure elected officials at all levels, to win more protections for our food, water, and climate, and to win real improvements in people’s lives. 

Join Wenonah, our honorees, and Food & Water Watch staff to celebrate our 20th anniversary! Attend the New York City event on May 6 (6:00pm) or virtually on May 13 (3:30pm ET).

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