Twenty years ago, Food & Water Watch was founded to take on big fights to defend our most essential resources: our food and water. Over those years, our staff, volunteers, supporters, and generous donors — like you! — have won countless victories from coast to coast. 

Since our founding in 2005, the political landscape has changed dramatically. Now, fossil fuel-driven climate change is wreaking more havoc than ever on our food, water, and future. 

But we know we will continue protecting our communities and the planet we love, thanks to the people power we’ve built together. With you, we’ve won real improvements in people’s lives across the country. And we’re taking the lessons we’ve learned and the experience we’ve gained into the next 20 years and beyond.

Your generosity has powered wins like shutting down polluting factory farms and fossil fuel projects; securing massive federal funding for clean energy and water infrastructure; passing historic clean water and food safety protections; stopping cruel water shutoffs for millions of people nationwide; and more. (Learn more about these victories in our 20th anniversary timeline!)

Whether you joined us in 2005 or 2025, we thank you for never giving up on our planet! Your passion for defending our communities, our most precious resources, and a livable future for all is remarkable.

Thank you for being the heart of the incredible accomplishments we’ve won together!! Check out exactly how much caring people like you have made a difference over the past two decades!

You’ve won meaningful protections for our food, water, and climate!

Together, we’ve made real strides toward a sustainable food future that’s fair for farmers, workers, families, and the planet. We’re reining in the dirty factory farm industry, fighting for small farmers, and taking on Big Ag mega-corporations that rip us off for profit.

At the same time, we’ve successfully fought corporate greed and pollution, as we work to ensure everyone has access to clean, affordable water. This essential resource, necessary for all life, should stay in the public’s hands, not private companies’. 

And we know that the biggest threat to sustainable food and clean water is climate change. Climate disasters and pollution from dirty energy are endangering our food and water supplies. Our shared victories against the oil and gas industry are key to our livable future. 

With you, over the past twenty years we’ve:

• Won a dozen+ protections for food, animal, and worker safety
• Protected communities from polluting factory farms in 11 states, using policy tools from legislation to regulatory changes
• Won 50+ water privatization fights, including in Chicago, Milwaukee, and San Diego
• Blocked a half dozen+ bottled water facilities, from Maine to Oregon 
• Blocked dozens of fossil fuel projects like pipelines and dirty power plants, from New York to Virginia, California to New Jersey
• Banned fracking in 4 states and hundreds of counties and towns

You’ve held power to account!

Together, we’ve spoken truth to power time and again. Billionaires and corporations are pouring vast resources into lobbying, elections, and misleading marketing. They’re trying to sway public opinion and push officials to do their bidding. You haven’t and won’t let that slide.

At the end of the day, our leaders serve us, not billionaires. But we know that they need plenty of reminders. Through the halls of Congress, the streets, and the courts, together we’re holding our leaders accountable to us. 

Because of people like you who are committed to building a brighter future, for 20 years, Food & Water Watch has uncovered vital information, forced leaders to answer for their decisions, and held officials to the law. At the same time, we’ve pushed decision makers at the local, state, and federal levels to pass bold policies that improve all of our lives. 

With you, over the past twenty years,we’ve:

• Driven 5 million+ messages to elected leaders
• Published 500+ hard-hitting research reports and other pieces that expose the truth behind industry lies
• Filed 70+ lawsuits holding government agencies and polluters accountable, including 30+ wins and dozens underway
• Submitted hundreds of legal comments opposing federal and state agency proposals to approve corporate megamergers, polluting projects, regulatory rollbacks, and more
• Passed a dozen+ state and federal laws for sustainable food, clean water, and a livable climate

You’ve built a powerful community of activists!

In 2005, your Food & Water Watch community began with a team of a dozen activists. Thanks to your investments, we’ve since grown across the country to more than 100 staff and thousands of volunteers. Together, we’ve built a massive, nationwide community of activists who care about our food, water, and climate as much as you do.

As we enter a new, harrowing chapter of U.S. history, this is more important than ever. The work ahead is heavy, but the load gets lighter when we share it with each other. Making connections and fostering community is crucial to building the people power we need to counter corporate power and government corruption.

Thank you for continuing to grow and strengthen our community every day. 

With you, over the past twenty years we’ve:

• Recruited 15,000+ volunteers across the country
• Partnered with 1,000+ organizations
• Mentored 400+ student interns with lifelong passions for organizing and activism
• Gathered support from 307,000+ grassroots donors and taken zero corporate dollars
• Attracted 252,000+ followers across Instagram, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads, Twitter, and TikTok
• Built a community of 2 million advocates

With You, We’ll Continue Protecting the People and Places We Love for the Next 20 Years and Beyond

You’re the foundation of all our work. Because of you, we can take on the big fights and call for bold action that few others will. We can demand what we need, not what we think is politically possible.

Despite the challenges ahead, we’re already making important strides! In just the first half of 2025, together we’ve:

• Stopped many bad provisions in Congress’s budget reconciliation bill, including cuts to school lunches, a sweeping deregulatory measure, and sales of public lands;
• Defeated the Cancer Gag Act in Iowa, preserving Iowans’ right to hold pesticide corporations accountable for the harms of these companies’ products;
• Pushed the FDA to ban Red Dye No. 3, which poses a cancer risk but was nevertheless allowed in food and drinks;
• Pushed Washington state to improve its mega-dairy permits, which will reduce harmful pollution from these facilities; and
• Protected a rule to get the lead out of our water against efforts by Congressional Republicans to repeal it!

Thank you for your commitment to protecting our most precious resources and building a livable future for all! With you, we can strike back against the worst of the Trump administration, fight for people over profit, and defend our food, water, and climate for decades to come.