Nestle Continues Stealing World’s Water During Drought

[Judi Lynn]

Nestle Continues Stealing World’s Water During Drought

Nestlé is draining California aquifers, from Sacramento alone taking 80 million gallons annually. Nestlé then sells the people's water back to them at great profit under many dozen brand names.

By Dan Bacher for IndyMedia | March 20, 2015

The city of Sacramento is in the fourth year of a record drought – yet the Nestlé Corporation continues to bottle city water to sell back to the public at a big profit, local activists charge.

The Nestlé Water Bottling Plant in Sacramento is the target of a major press conference on Tuesday, March 17, by a water coalition that claims the company is draining up to 80 million gallons of water a year from Sacramento aquifers during the drought.

The coalition, the crunchnestle alliance, says that City Hall has made this use of the water supply possible through a “corporate welfare giveaway,” according to a press advisory.

A coalition of environmentalists, Native Americans and other concerned people announced the press conference will take place at March 17 at 5 p.m. at new Sacramento City Hall, 915 I Street, Sacramento.

The coalition will release details of a protest on Friday, March 20, at the South Sacramento Nestlé plant designed to “shut down” the facility. The coalition is calling on Nestlé to pay rates commensurate with their enormous profit, or voluntarily close down.

More:
http://www.mintpressnews.com/nestle-continues-stealing-worlds-water-during-drought/203544/

[raven mad]

1. N.E.S.T.L.E.S. nestles makes the very best............

bullshit.

I refuse to buy any of their products.

[Enthusiast]

2. Boycott Nestles!

Fuckers!

[raven mad]

3. AMEN!

What I won't buy in the store, I'll make, barter, or figure out a way to find it elsewhere.

[Ilsa]

4. More thievery. And politicians will

scream about the jobs from Washington while people in CA empty their pockets for a drink.

[KrazyinKS]

5. Interesting indeed!

I have always thought water is going to become a scarce resource. I think there are some corporations and billionaires who know that. That is how they got rich, they have this ability to see into the future and make moves to dominate such resources. This can become a very big deal. Keep your eyes open.

[daleanime]

7. Anyone who took the time to read the warnings....

about climate change knew that. Not a special power only possessed by the rich. While the PTB may not want to lose profits because of it, they sure don't mind making profits from it.

[tecelote]

8. It's already happening.

I know that New Mexico, Texas and Arizona have companies buying water rights from landowners and have been for over a decade.

You see their signs - "Sell Your Water Rights" Just call...

[DeSwiss]

6. K&R

- Such parasites as these cannot be allowed to undermine humanity. Period. Fuck their goddamned profits. They don't own shit.

We can't allow the system to keep running like this, or it will kill us all......

[magical thyme]

9. BOYCOTT!!!! and remember to fight TPP and TPIP because this is how they will try to steal it next.

Nestle's CEO is on record as stating that people don't have a right to water; it should be privatized and sold to them.

They argue in court that people don't own the water and corporations have a right to drill for it. Maine countered that we own the land over it and have a right to not let them drill into our land. They finally gave up (I think) and went after easier targets, where too many value money over life.

They sued small village after small village in poverty-stricken Maine trying to steal our water. When I moved here 11 years ago, the instructor in our Master Gardener Center told us the wars of the 21st century will be fought over water.

Mark my words, TPP and TPIP will be their next strategy. To give a foreign tribunal made of their hand-picked cohorts the power to bankrupt us into capitulation.

[PotatoChip]

10. No, they didn't move on. They're here. Unfortunately. (nt)

[magical thyme]

11. exactly where, besides Poland Springs? because they were trying to expand their drilling from there

did they finally succeed?

[PotatoChip]

12. In several southern and western Maine towns and unorganized townships.

This happened around 10 years ago, iirc.

Poland Spring is a brand of bottled water manufactured by a subsidiary of Nestlé and sold in the United States.[1] The spring was founded in 1845 by Hiram Ricker in the town of Poland, Maine. Today the water is derived from multiple sources in the state of Maine, including Poland Spring and Garden Spring in Poland, Maine, Clear Spring in Hollis, Evergreen Spring in Fryeburg, Spruce Spring in Pierce Pond Township, White Cedar Spring in Dallas Plantation, and Bradbury Spring in Kingfield.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland_Spring

[magical thyme]

13. it doesn't state when that expansion took place. but there were lawsuits after that

http://stopnestlewaters.org/communities/fryeburg-me

After Nestle built a nearby bottling plant, Nestle (in this cause in the guise of Poland Springs water) wanted to drill a new well in nearby Denmark, ME, and pipe water to a water-loading station in a Fryeburg residential area.

At first the town planning commission said yes, then reversed themselves due to impacts on the town (noise, traffic, pollution, etc).

To say Nestle was unhappy is an understatement.

They’ve sued and (and appealed) the town five times. Nestle’s lost all four (one is still pending), and in one instance, Nestle’s lawyers argued in front of the Maine Supreme Court that their right to grow market share superceded the town’s right of control...

Last year, another water company sued Nestle for misrepresentation, since the water does not come from springs. It's heavily treated ground and surface water:

http://www.law360.com/articles/576532/nestle-tries-to-sink-suit-over-poland-spring-tm-threat-letters

Law360, New York (September 11, 2014, 7:38 PM ET) -- Nestle SA on Thursday urged a federal judge to toss a lawsuit over the food giant's “Poland Spring” brand, arguing, among other things, that it couldn't be sued for tortious interference for sending a letter that threatened trademark litigation.
Maine Springs LLC — itself based in Poland Spring, Maine — sued Nestle last month, claiming its use of the “Poland Spring” name was false advertising because the spring had “been dry for many decades.” The suit also included a side claim: that threats of trademark litigation from Nestle had scuttled Maine Springs' business deals to supply bulk spring water to third-party bottlers.

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

14. There has been quite an impact on noise and traffic in the Fryeburg/Bridgton/Denmark area.

Route 302 is a mess from Fryeburg to Bridgton because of the trucks loading up all that water. That road cannot handle all of the water-filled semis driving on it. Before that well went in in Denmark there were some big trucks on 302, but nothing like you see now.

It almost brings me to tears every time I see a truck full of our water heading out to be bottled and sold back to us at a huge profit.

[magical thyme]

15. so they won the suit against Denmark?

craps.

[LeftOfWest]

16. Important informative post

thanks Judi Lynn.

recommended.