Archives: Press Releases

Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director, Food & Water Europe

Brussels—“The announcement that the German company Muller is taking over British dairy monolith Wisemans, which supplies 30 per cent of the UK’s fresh milk, is not good news, and farmers know it. It is yet another example of the disastrous concentration in the dairy industry that is driving hundreds of UK family-owned dairies out of business, and even more across the EU. More are likely to follow as the international company makes money from economies of scale derived by slashing farm gate prices so supermarkets can continue to sell milk as a loss leader. This is only possible because so many farmers are forced to sell at less than the cost of production.

“What makes commercial sense for big businesses too often does not make sense for farmers, the countryside, animal welfare or, ultimately, consumers who want their hard earned money to support real food and farming. We will be watching all these areas very closely to ensure Muller does the right thing. The fact Muller recently cut the price it pays by 0.5 pence is not a good start.”

Food & Water Europe is a program of Food & Water Watch, Inc., a non-profit consumer NGO based in Washington, D.C., working to ensure clean water and safe food in Europe and around the world. We challenge the corporate control and abuse of our food and water resources by empowering people to take action and transforming the public consciousness about what we eat and drink.

Contact: Eve Mitchell – [email protected], tel + 44 (0)1381 610 740)

Brussels – The much-anticipated publication of the European Commission’s 2050 Energy Roadmap has identified shale gas and other unconventional gas sources as “potential important new sources of supply in or around Europe” for reducing carbon emissions from the energy sector. However, recent studies reveal that widespread shale gas development may actually worsen global climate change. Food & Water Europe today conveyed disappointment that the Roadmap not only ignored these scientific findings, but also failed to acknowledge the many other environmental and public health risks associated with the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract shale gas. The organization cited examples of problems from fracking in the U.S., where now over 100 state and local governments have passed resolutions to ban the dangerous practice.

“Drilling and fracking for shale gas not only endangers our precious water resources, it also threatens our climate. Inexplicably, the Energy Roadmap fails to acknowledge these threats.”

The group cited the following:

Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed that fracking most likely explains widespread groundwater contamination in Pavilion, Wyoming. Overall, more than 1,000 cases of water contamination have been reported near fracking sites in the U.S.;
Many of the chemicals used in fracking fluid are toxic and some are carcinogenic. Scientists at the Endocrine Disruption Exchange found that 25 percent of fracking fluids can cause cancer; 37 percent can disrupt the endocrine system; and 40 to 50 percent can affect the nervous, immune and cardiovascular systems;
Each shale gas well results in millions of liters of toxic fracking wastewater. Accidents, spills, and inadequate treatment of this wastewater further endangers water resources;
Beyond impacts on water, shale gas development increases heavy-duty truck traffic, noise pollution, and air pollution at the expense of local communities, negatively impacting tourism and agriculture;
Recent scientific studies, from Cornell University and the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research, demonstrate that methane emissions from shale gas development are likely to accelerate climate change in the coming decades. This is despite shale gas being a relatively clean-burning fossil fuel.

“The dubious benefits and poor environmental record of shale gas development in the U.S. serve as a cautionary tale for Europe,” said Wenonah Hauter. “It is worrying that the European Commission’s Energy Roadmap perpetuates the myth of shale gas as viable bridge to a low carbon future.”

Food & Water Europe advocates for aggressive investment in the deployment of existing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, alongside investment in research and development to further these technologies and deliver a sustainable energy future for the EU.

Food & Water Europe works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.

Contact: Geert De Cock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org

Statement by Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch and Maude Barlow, Chair, Council of Canadians

Washington, D.C. – “We are greatly saddened at the loss of Danielle Mitterand,a valiant and tireless leader on the human right to water. As one of the most outspoken opponents of privatizing water services and commodifying water, she was instrumental in helping to organize the global water justice movement.

“Mrs. Mitterand was never afraid to challenge the French multinational water companies and to promote the cause of publicly controlled water services. She and her organization, France Libertés helped to document the many abuses that these companies perpetrated from France to the developing world.

“During the next World Water Forum, to be held in Marseilles in March 2011, her leadership challenging the political and economic forces that want to profit from water shall greatly be missed. But, her work has not been in vain. The movement that she helped found will continue fighting the theft of water and work to insure that all people across the world have access to water.”

Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.

Europe Contact: Gabriella Zanzanaini, gzanzanaini(at)fweurope.org, +32 488 409 662

North America Contact: Rich Bindell, rbindell(at)fwwatch(dot)org, 202-683-2457

New York City – The Council of Canadians and Food and Water Europe commend the Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation for stressing the urgent need for States to increase funding for the fulfillment of the human right to water and sanitation with a particular emphasis on meeting obligations towards the most marginalized and un-served segments of society in her report to the General Assembly today.

We join the special rapporteur in:

• Calling on governments to focus public policy on equitable outcomes rather than economic growth,
• Calling on States to develop regulatory frameworks to monitor and ensure the fulfillment of the human right to water and sanitation,
• Demanding that economic policy be scrutinized for compliance with human rights standard,
• Demanding transparency, public participation and accountability with regards to the financing of water and sanitation,
• Demanding that States prioritize those with greatest need, and
• Calling on States to increase budget transparency.

We share the analysis that:

• International financing conditionalities have been based on political benefit rather than serving those in greatest need,
• A narrow focus on economic growth has prevented States from fulfilling human rights obligations,
• States required to devote large portions of gross domestic product to service external debt may be restricted in their ability to determine their national budget and resource allocation for essential public services, including water and sanitation,
• The continued use of conditionalities in these financing arrangements can also distort State priorities and have a deleterious effect on human rights,
• There is an inconsistency when utilities are expected to deliver services on a commercial basis while serving the public good, and
• When money for development hinges on the enactment of particular macroeconomic policies, it can lead to cuts in public expenditures that could otherwise support the realization of the rights to water and sanitation.

However, we feel strongly that certain models of financing are incompatible with a human rights framework and deserve explicit mention. There is a great deal of documented evidence of private sector financing serving as an impediment to the human right to water. As De Albequerque argues, “human rights law […] requires States to actively promote non-discrimination.” Yet privatization schemes fail to ensure the right to water and sanitation for communities that do not meet the profit incentive of private corporations. Pre-paid meters in South Africa which were only installed in the poor neighborhoods are a clear example of discrimination by the private sector.

For decades, International Financial Institutions (IFIs) have promoted the interests of for-profit corporations to the detriment of marginalized communities and low income households. The Special Rapporteur highlights the history of “inappropriate conditionalities” of IFIs, but fails to define this concept therefore failing to acknowledge that conditionalities aimed at expanding the markets of multinational corporations are intrinsic to the modus operandi of IFIs.

De Albuquerque argues that regardless of the funding source a State chooses, it must always ensure that there are corresponding mechanisms in place to support transparency, public participation and accountability, but history shows that the private sector undermines all of the above. Trade agreements explicitly protect corporations from having to disclose the content of their contracts with the public sector preventing the development of a culture of transparency and democratic control of water and sanitation services.

Furthermore, while we agree that water and sanitation services must be affordable to all segments of society, clearer guidelines can only be established through full public participation aimed at ensuring universal access and non-discrimination.

Finally, among the solutions that are not explored within the report, we call for public resources to be allocated to public public partnerships ensuring that public sector best practices are shared among those requiring capacity building and training. We also support the call for domestic and international transaction taxes that would increase the revenues and capacity of governments to direct funding to public services.

For more information, please contact:

Meera Karunananthan, Council of Canadians: 613.355.2100
Darcey O’Callaghan, Food and Water Watch: +1 202.309.1440

Food & Water Europe works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.

Alaska’s Senators Turn Up the Heat on GE Salmon

Brussels – With AquaBounty’s AquaAdvantage genetically engineered (GE) salmon now under review by the White House and one step closer to approval, Alaska’s senators—concerned about the possible impacts the approval would have on their state’s wild salmon stocks—are taking actions to try to block the experimental organism. One of the actions would block the salmon’s approval, while the other would effectively stop its commercialization should the fish be approved.

Senator Mark Begich (D-AK) yesterday filed a bill that would make it illegal to ship, transport, sell, or purchase GE salmon in interstate or foreign commerce. Meanwhile, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) offered an amendment to the 2012 Agriculture Appropriations bill that would prohibit the Food and Drug Administration from using funding to approve the application—a move that builds upon the similar Young-Woolsey amendment in the House, and would essentially block the approval process.

“We applaud Alaska’s Senators for stepping up to the plate to protect our nation’s natural resources while preserving jobs for their constituents,” said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Europe. “Once again the FDA is looking out for the interests of the biotech industry over consumers and the environment. We hope other members of Congress resist the biotech industry’s lobbying and tell the FDA to do its job, not approve unwanted or untested science experiments.”

Begich’s bill, the Prevention of Escapement of Genetically Altered Salmon in the United States (PEGASUS) Act, would effectively ban the interstate commerce of all future genetically engineered marine fish. It would also make it illegal to possess such fish with the intent of shipping, transporting or selling it, and violations would be enforced and subject to penalties under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

“The damaging impacts of other invasive species released into the environment are well known,” said Begich, who is also Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and the Coast Guard, in a statement released yesterday. “While the manufacturer maintains its fish will be raised in closed rearing facilities, opportunities for escape exist through water circulation, handling accidents or unauthorized releases. Proponents publicly discussed opportunities for marketing GE salmon live during a Congressional staff briefing this year. While proponents maintain the fish will not be able to interbreed with wild stocks, it is reported a small fraction will not be sterile. Unintended genetic contamination from GE crops is well documented; it’s not reasonable to think it can’t happen here.”

Senator Murkowski, who also co-sponsored PEGASUS, is Chair of the Oceans Caucus and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The Frankenfish issue still has far more questions than answers, starting with the FDA’s process for approving an animal product intended for human consumption is considered by some to be insufficient,” she said in a statement yesterday. “The tests have come under attack from scientific groups, including the FDA’s own Veterinary Medical Advisory Committee.”

“There is just too much at risk here,” continued Begich in the statement. “The public has expressed serious concerns about the introduction of Frankenfish into the nation’s food supply including potential threats to the environment and public health, and economic impacts on producers of sustainable wild salmon. There are concerns about the transparency of the FDA’s review process and whether the consumer’s ‘right to know’ is being ignored. Some, frankly, just aren’t comfortable with the idea the government thinks it can improve on nature by genetically altering Alaska wild salmon.”

Food & Water Europe works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.

Contact: Eve Mitchell +44 (0)1381 610 740, emitchell(at)fweurope.org