Food & Water Watch

Fighting Pipelines

Food & Water Watch has worked for years with our partners in the Oil & Water Don’t Mix coalition to shut down Line 5, a 66-year old pipeline that runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac and transports 22.7 million gallons of oil and natural gas through the Great Lakes each day. Together, we have worked with over 70 local municipalities and Indigenous Nations to pass resolutions calling on former Governor Rick Snyder to shut down Line 5. Michigan’s new governor Gretchen Whitmer pledged to shut down the pipeline on the campaign trail, and we’re continuing to work with partners to make sure she follows through on her commitment.

Protecting The Great Lakes From Factory Farm Pollution

In Michigan, the application of manure and fertilizer to frozen ground has led to increased toxification of the Great Lakes and was linked by experts to the massive algal bloom of 2014, which left 500,000 people without safe drinking water for two days. The concentration and proliferation of factory farm operations in Michigan is indicative of the consolidation of our food system. Food & Water Watch is working with our partners in the Great Farms, Great Lakes Coalition to put an end to the application of manure to frozen ground and protect people’s right to safe drinking water.

100% Renewable Energy

In addition to our work at the state and local level, we’re also working to build the movement for 100% clean, renewable energy here in Michigan, and across the country. We’re working with allied organizations and our volunteers to push members of Congress to support bold, ambitious climate policies that will keep fossil fuels in the ground, provide a fair and just transition to 100% clean energy, and create millions of jobs in the process.

Safe and Affordable Water For All

Several Michigan communities, notably Detroit and Flint, have faced severe water crises in the past few years. Food & Water Watch, along with our allies in the People’s Water Board Coalition and the Blue Planet Project, worked to submit a report to the United Nations highlighting this violation of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation in Detroit. We’ve called for an end to the water shut-offs in Detroit and restoration of water service to those that have been disconnected. Food & Water Watch has also supported the work of Flint residents and helped to get them switched back to a safe water supply.

To ensure that communities like Flint, Detroit, and countless others across the country have access to affordable and safe water, we’re working on the national Water Affordability, Transparency, Equity, and Reliability (WATER) Act to provide dedicated and sustainable funding for our essential water systems.