Food & Water Watch 2012 Annual Report

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NATIONAL OFFICE

1616 P St. NW, Suite 300

Washington, DC 20036

(202) 683-2501

foodandwaterwatch.org


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STAFF INTERVIEWS

................................................................3

Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director

....................9Mark Schlosberg, National Organizing Director

..................................................................14

Patty Lovera,Assistant Director and Food Program Director

..................19

Emily Wurth, Water Program Director

...........................................24Mitch Jones, Common Resources Program Director

................................... 29

Scott Edwards, Co-Director, Food & Water Justice Project

.............................................................. 34

Darcey OCallaghan, International Program Director

FINANCIALS ........................................................................................ 37


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2 2012 Annual Report

foo dandwa ter watch.org

FOOD & WATER WATCH

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Wenonah Hauter

Wenonah Hauter

Lane Brooks

DIRECTORS

About Food & Water Watch

Food & Water Watch has more than 90

the necessary grassroots education

food and water sources.


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2012 Annual Report

foodan dwa terwat ch.o rg

Why did you start Food & Water Watch?

I ounded Food & Waer Wach because I hink people really care abou whas in heir ood, and heyre very

concerned abou he corporae akeover o our mos criical resources. Were a a place where we really need

have poliical acion. In he pas, i was imporan o have organizaions ha were mosly ocused in Washing

on, D.C., on policymakers. Bu we know ha because o our sysem o legalized bribery in his counry, whe

corporaions have so much inluence over policy and regulaion, we really need an organized voing block o

ry o hold our eleced officials accounable. So we ormed Food & Waer Wach o begin working a he sae

and local level organizing and helping individuals have a voice in he mos imporan issues o our ime.

Where is Food & Water Watch now,and where would you like to see it go?

Were really excied ha oday we have 17 sae offices. I hink is criical o work a he sae level because

one o he problems we have is ha Congress doesn relec he values o he ciizens in he saes hey

represen. This is because weve had a small group o people able o ake over he sae legislaures. Im rom

WHY FOOD & WATER WATCH?WENONAH HAUTER

In December 2012, Wenonah Hauters book Foodopoly: The Battle

Over the Future of Food and Farming in Americawas released by

The New Press. Publishers Weekly called it a meticulously

researched tour de force, and Kirkus Reviews said it provides

A forceful argument about our dysfunctional food system.

For more information, visitfoodopoly.org.


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a disric has been gerrymandered by he sae legislaure o look kind o like a snake,

so hey can ge he resuls a he sae legislaure ha hey wan so hey ge resuls in

Congress. I hink i were going o do somehing abou his errible siuaion, where we

have a Congress has voing in policies ha mos Americans don agree wih, hen were

going o have o really do a lo o work a he sae level. Tha means connecing he issues

ha people care abou ha impac hem in heir day-o-day lives o he poliics o he

sae and hen evenually o whas going on in Congress and a he ederal level.

How do you feel Food & Water Watchis making progress toward its mission?

Im really proud ha his year we now have hal-a-million aciviss who are working wih

us. Wha were rying o do a Food & Waer Wach is really give individuals a way o

inerac wih he poliical sysem,

because I hink our opponens

benei by having people eel as i

heres nohing ha can be done.

Apahy is he way o go you

know, si in ron o your elevision

se and don worry abou poliics.

Well, everyhing is poliical. I eel

like were giving people who wan a voice a way o engage in he poliical sysem our

democracy o have sae ood, o proec our waer resources. Then we need large num-

bers o people o say engaged. And we need o work wih all o he oher organizaionsha are rying o do his, oo.

You published a book this year. Why did you write it?What do you hope to do with it? And, do you have anygood stories from the road?

I wroe a book his year called Foodopoly: The Batle Over he Fuure of Food and Farming,

and I do hink were in a batle over our ood sysem. I hink ha i were really going o

ix our ood sysem, we have o have a more vigorous debae over wha he problems are.In Foodopoly, I give a hisory o how we ended up wih such a dysuncional ood sysem,

because I hink we really need o undersand where weve been o know where we need o

go. In he 1980s, under he Reagan adminisraion, he laws ha are supposed o mainain

compeiion ha are supposed o make companies compee were acually weakened.

So even hough we have an economic sysem has supposed o be buil on he idea o

compeiion, all o our ederal policies have been direced a allowing compeiors o merge

What were trying to do at Food & WaterWatch is really give individuals a way to

interact with the political system, because I

feel as if theres nothing that can be done.

PHOTOBYSUSANWOZNY


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2012 Annual Report 5

and acquire one anoher. And has had a very chilling effec on our ood sysem and on

every oher indusry.

When companies ge much, much larger, hey ge much richer. These companies have

become so wealhy ha hey now have a grea deal o power over our poliical sysem, and

hey basically dicae all ederal legislaive and regulaory policies relaed o ood romwheher youre exposed o pesicides o labeling o geneically engineered oods. I hink i

were going o acually change hese hings, we need o lay hese issues ou because no-

bodys alking abou hem. And he irs sep is acually knowing wha he problems are.

What are the challenges and opportunitiesthat you see for the near term?

I hink he real challenge is ha we now live in a poliical sysem where heres a very

narrow group o social issues ha boh major poliical paries have a handshake abou. Onhe righ, we have he Republican Pary ha can enrage is base on a ew speciic issues.

And hen on he Democraic side, hey can ge heir base engaged in ighing over hese

social issues, and nobody really ges down o he economic issues ha are affecing every-

one in heir day-o-day lives. So Amer-

icans are becoming poorer and poorer,

we have major sraiicaion, were acing

major environmenal problems wih cli-

mae chaos and all o he polluion has

aking place, and he issues ha really a-

ec people in heir day-o-day lives he

pocke-book issues and he criical environmenal issues are jus being ignored, because

boh poliical paries are being bough and paid or by his se o corporaions ha bene-

is rom hese policies.

Food & Water Watch is based in Washington, D.C. How isit different from other public interest groups in the city?

People ofen ask me why were any differen rom any o he oher organizaions ha do

public ineres work and are based here in Washingon. And I hink has a really impor-an quesion. I hink he real difference is ha a lo o organizaions here spend a lo o ime

lobbying. Bu we don believe ha you can really change members o Congress minds

based on he acs. I we were going o win by he acs, we would have already won.

We do reconnaissance on Capiol Hill because is obviously very imporan ha we know

whas going on, wha legislaion is coming down he pipe and wha peoples posiions are.

The issues that really affect people in

their day-to-day lives the pocket-book

issues and the critical environmental

issues are just being ignored.


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Bu wha makes us really differen is ha were based in saes. We have a lo o ield ca-

paciy we pu more han hal o our resources ino organizing and working wih people

a he sae and local level. We believe ha i were going o change hings, is going o be

because people hold heir eleced officials accounable. Our role is o provide he inorma-

ion (we have a lo o research capaciy) and hen o make i possible or people o acually

have heir voice heard and o encourage people o ge involved. My saying is: Educae,

organize, agiae and mobilize. And has really how were going o change hings in his

counry.

Can you talk a little bit about the Citizens United decisionand how it impacts Food & Water Watchs work?

You know, or a long ime, weve had he problem o money in poliics. I was really be-

ginning in he 1980s, afer corporaions were allowed o begin merging and acquiring heir

closes compeiors and becoming very, very wealhy, ha hey had he poliical power o

begin weakening he policies ha made our elecions more

air. Since ha ime, increasingly weve seen corporaions

spending money on elecions, on boh Republicans and Dem-

ocras. I call i a legalized sysem o bribery.

Recenly, wih he Ciizens Unied decision by he Supreme

Cour ha basically says ha corporaions are people and

can spend as much money on elecions as hey desire, hings

have goten much, much worse. I you look a he las pres-

idenial elecion, I hink abou $3 billion was spen on he

elecion, and a hird o ha money came rom 250 individuals. Now, heres somehing

wrong wih a sysem like ha. So I hink ha all o he organizing has going on o have

a consiuional amendmen o change Ciizens Unied and he campaign inance laws ha

allow corporaions o buy public policy I hink has really he direcion ha we need o

go. And is going o ake people coming ogeher in a coaliion on ood, on healhcare,

on every issue o make sure ha we are acually able o pass a consiuional amend-

men o ge money ou o poliics.

Can you tell us what brought you here andhow your life has evolved to do the work that you do?

I grew up in a ime when poliical acivism was boh popular and encouraged. In he lae

1960s, when I was in high school, I was already geting involved as an organizer. I orga-

nized he girls in my high school o all wear pans we weren allowed o. They couldn

kick us all ou o school, and so we were able o change he dress code. And, you know,

Increasingly weve seen

corporations spending

money on elections, on

both Republicans and

Democrats. I call it a

legalized system of bribery.


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you ge a litle ase o power rom organizing, and you ge inspired o ge more acive!

I wen o high school a a ime when Virginia had segregaed schools, and I was involved

in a si-in a my high school when he high schools were merged, and hey weren going

o allow he Arican American girls who had been chosen o be cheerleaders in heir high

school o be cheerleaders in our new consolidaed school. So I was involved in a si-in, and

my irs ase o he power o elies was when I go kicked ou o school or wo weeks.

And, I grew up on a arm. My parens didn have a lo o money, bu we ended up on his

arm in Virginia and I learned a lo abou wha i means o grow ood, and my aher was ino

organic gardening so I really learned abou he impac o chemicals a an early age. So I hink

all o hose hings working ogeher made an acivis ou o me. Probably no exacly wha

my parens had hoped or, bu i made me ineresed in changing he world a a young age.

Is there anything else that you want

to tell our members and supporters?Ive had a really anasic year being able o ravel around. Is been such a privilege o

mee so many people, and people are working so hard in heir communiies o ake back

our democracy is been really inspiraional. And Ive had so many grea experiences,

heres been so much warmh ha Ive el, and jus really he recogniion ha we all have

o work ogeher i were going o change he world and have he kind o social, economic

and environmenal jusice ha we wan.

Ive had a lo o un, oo. You know, going ino a small Midwesern own where hey have

Foodopolyup in he window o he booksore abou a hundred copies because auhorsdon go o small American owns and alk abou heir books. In ha own, I walked ino

he local bakery and hey had a lyer on he

couner wih my picure and an announce-

men abou he booksore even, and he

woman behind he couner said, I was old i

you came in here, o give you whaever you

waned o ea ou o he bakery! Those are

he kind o hings ha jus give you a warm

eeling; Ive had a lo o hose experiences. And

no jus in he places ha you would expec

he wes coas, he norheas. Ive been going

o places like Alabama and inding ha here

are people who are jus as commited o changing he sysem. They have an uphill batle

in heir sae because o elecoral poliics, and has jus given me a lo o hope or he

uure.

Ive been going to places like

people who are just as committed

to changing the system. They have

an uphill battle in their state because

of electoral politics, and thats justgiven me a lot of hope for the future.


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When somebody walks into the grocery store, they seean abundance of choices. Tell us what the problem iswith the food system, and why that choice isnt a reality.

Firs o all, all he choice ha you see in he grocery sore is really a alse illusion because

we have jus a handul o companies ha sand beween less han a million armers and

300 million eaers. Today, here are ewer han 20 ood processing companies ha own

more han 60 percen o he brands in he grocery sore. There are a small handul o irms

ha conrol almos everyhing abou he ood sysem, and hey have so much poliical

power ha hey have been able o dicae ederal legislaive and regulaory rules abou

every aspec o he ood sysem, rom wheher your child sees jus under 5,000 junk ood

ads a year, o wheher ha same child is exposed o a range o pesicides and herbicides.

These companies have oo much poliical power, ye a lo o people are alking abou he

problems wih he ood sysem as i is acually he armers who are causing he prob-

lems. The way we see i a Food & Waer Wach,

armers are he vicims o he ood sysem. They

have been adverised o and encouraged o use

pracices and echnologies ha aren benei-

ing hem. Also, he way o lie in rural areas: he

average midsize armer oday makes $19,300, and

hal o ha comes rom a governmen paymen.

So I hink ha is really alse o blame armers

or he problems in he ood sysem, his dysunc-ional ood sysem has making people sick and overweigh. We should look a he real

economic powers ha have been able o manipulae he rules and regulaions: he ood

corporaions.

The way we see it at Food & Water

Watch, farmers are the victims of

the food system. They have been

advertised to and encouraged to

use practices and technologies

Listen to an excerpt of this conversation athttp://fwwat.ch/17w1J1B
http://fwwat.ch/17w1J1Bhttp://fwwat.ch/17w1J1Bhttp://fwwat.ch/17w1J1B


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2012 Annual Report


What makes Food & Water Watch organizing unique?Food & Waer Wach has an organizing philosophy has based on building power o make real changes in

peoples lives. Were a naional organizaion, bu one has rying o suppor and grow he grassroos orga-

nizing and organizaions across he counry. Were rying o build power in key places hroughou he counry

so ha we can make our eleced officials represen he people raher han large corporae ineress. Also, we

have a robus campus program: were on over 50 campuses across h

counry working o ge hem o go botled waer-ree really rainin

a new generaion o organizers.

We have saff organizers in ield offices across he counry ha

suppor oher grassroos organizaions o help hem grow; develop

sraegy; provide resources; and help develop robus campaigns ha

involve a wide range o organizaions because were no going o be able o win he ough issues like rack-

ing, or geting geneically engineered ood labeled, or beter ood saey programs, on our own. Is going o

ake a broad movemen o concerned ciizens along wih a lo o srong grassroos sae, regional and naiona

groups across he counry.

We believe ha we need o inves ime ino helping develop grassroos organizaions; has why or years,

Food & Waer Wach has been in he saes helping o suppor new and exising grassroos organizaions by

working wih hem o develop shor-erm and longer-erm sraegies ha resul in srong campaigns. We also

provide resources, like research repors and ac shees; maerials such as bumper sickers and signs; as well a

he acivism o our own robus online acivis nework and our commited members o suppor heir work.

A grea recen example is our campaign in Longmon, Colorado, where we worked very closely wih he grass

roos group Our Longmon o suppor heir effors o ban racking in heir communiy. Working ogeher, we

were able o ge a racking ban in Longmon passed via a ballo iniiaive in November o 2012. This municipa

ban in a sae wih a long hisory o exracive mining and drilling has helped change he debae around rack

ing, and we are now poised o replicae our vicory in Longmon hroughou Colorado.

FOOD & WATER WATCHORGANIZING:

A UNIQUE MODEL

MARK SCHLOSBERG

Were a national organization, but

one thats trying to support and

grow the grassroots organizing and

organizations across the country.


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What are your teams short-term and long-term goals?

The shor-erm goal o our ood organizing is ocused largely on passing labeling legislaion

in saes around he counry. We believe people have he righ o know wheher or no he

oods hey are eaing are geneically engineered, and here is grea popular suppor or hese

iniiaives. We wan o suppor he groups working on he ground, muliply our effors and

win hese campaigns. The long-erm goal is o harness his movemen o people who wan

ransparency in he ood sysem, and who igh or sae, healhy ood so ha we can ruly

build power o rival Big Ag and ix our broken ood sysem and ake back our democracy.

In erms o waer issues, mos o our energy is ocused on expanding he naional move-

men o ban racking, as well as supporing our campus campaigns o ban botled waer

and working wih local communiies o proec hem rom effors o privaize public waer.

A Food & Waer Wach, we believe we need o igh or he public policies and he corpo-

rae pracices ha we really need o proec our ood and waer no jus wha is poli-ically easy or expedien. And we can do his by ourselves. Fracking is a grea example

o how we work in coaliion. We have helped develop (along wih our coaliion parners)

Americans Agains Fracking, and now have

more han 200 organizaions working wih us o

sop racking naionally. Since racking is ex-

emp rom mos ederal regulaions (hank you,

Dick Cheney), mos o he real decisions abou

racking are happening a he sae level, so we

have helped build sae coaliions in New York,

Caliornia and Colorado. And were looking o do

ha in oher places so ha we can have a more

powerul, poliical orce really pushing hard on our sae and local eleced officials (and

also our naional represenaives) o push or a ban on racking.

What was the most important thingyour team accomplished this year?

The bigges hing ha Ive seen happen in he las year is jus he big shif a he naional

level in erms o how people are alking abou racking. And I hink a lo o ha change

has o do wih he coaliion work ha weve been doing, and really aking a srong sand

or a ban. In New York, ha coaliion has been incredible and is really changing he dy-

namic in ha sae, and I hink has sor o reverberaing across he counry where were

organizing and working wih grassroos sae and local parners.

Food & Waer Wach was one o he irs naional organizaions o call or a ban on

racking. When we sared a couple years ago, mos groups were no alking abou a ban

At Food & Water Watch, we believe

policies and the corporate practices

that we really need to protect our

food and water not just what is

politically easy or expedient.


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on racking a all people were alking abou racked gas as a bridge o a clean energy

uure. Bu now we have a growing consensus among environmenal organizaions and

progressive organizaions ha racked gas is jus anoher diry ossil uel has going o

exacerbae our climae siuaion raher

han make i beter. The ban posiion has

gone rom ringe o he mainsream. I

hink par o our challenge as an organi-

zaion, as an organizing eam and really

as a movemen, is o ranslae ha really

srong, local opposiion o racking o

power a he ederal level and organizing

o hold hose officials accounable.

What was your biggest challenge this year,

and what frustrates you the most?

Our bigges challenge is he scarciy o unding and oher resources on our side compared

o he overwhelming resources ha our opposiion has. When you have a company like

Monsano ha can pour millions o dollars ino a ballo campaign a he drop o a ha o

mislead voers (or example, in Caliornia on Prop 37), has an enormous challenge. When

youve go he oil and gas indusry ha can spend millions o dollars lobbying, conribuing

o campaigns, conribuing o poliical organizaions, ec., has a huge hurdle o overcome.

So our challenge is o harness our resources o really engage people in a way ha will help

grow he movemen, o expand our own membership and he membership o he grass-

roos organizaions we work wih, so ha all o us ogeher can grow sronger and can

really be able o hold our eleced officials accounable. I hink he opporuniy is ha here

is a lo o passion ou here abou hese issues. People are ed up, people undersand ha

our democracy is really broken, and hese issues like racking, and he power o he oil and

gas indusry, are really sympoms o a larger broken poliical sysem.

How does Food & Water Watch work withother organizations to achieve its goals?

A Food & Waer Wach, we believe we can never achieve he really big goals ha we have

working by ourselves. We mus work wih oher organizaions o help suppor hem, o

build hem up, as we are building our own organizaion paricularly wih grassroos

groups a he sae and local level, bu also our naional parners as well. We pu a lo o

resources ino orming coaliions a he sae and local level. Food & Waer Wachs phi-

losophy is ha we wan o grow our own membership and make sure ha were a susain-

Now we have a growing consensus

among environmental organizations and

progressive organizations that fracked

gas is just another dirty fossil fuel

thats going to exacerbate our climate

situation rather than make it better.


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Whats your background and whatbrought you here to Food & Water Watch?

Ive always had a really srong ineres in social jusice, rom an early age. I did organizing

in college around a variey o social jusice issues and ood issues as well, and Ive beenorganizing ever since I was in high school. Wha really moivaes me is concern or he

uure o our plane, boh or mysel and or my children. Ive go eigh-year-old wins and

I see he world ha heyre being brough up in, and I wan hem, heir riends and every-

body in ha generaion o be able o have he opporuniies ha I had, ha my parens

had.

I see a democracy ha we live in has broken, where we have corporaions ha exer

huge amouns o inluence in our poliical sysem. A he same ime, hese corporaions

are polluing our waer, our air, our climae.

We need o have clean waer o drink, goodood o ea, air we can breahe and a climae

we can live in. And he direcion ha were go-

ing as a sociey is he opposie direcion ha

we should be going. So, Im highly moivaed

o do everyhing I can and o ry o work wih

oher people o do everyhing hey can o

push back agains hese very powerul corpo-

rae ineress, and o help make sure no jus ha our ood and waer are clean and sae,

bu ha our democracy is also one ha is susainable or he long erm.

We need to have clean water todrink, good food to eat, air we can

breathe and a climate we can live

in. And the direction that were

going as a society is the opposite

direction that we should be going.

Listen to an excerpt of this conversation athttp://fwwat.ch/17ypY4z
http://fwwat.ch/17ypY4zhttp://fwwat.ch/17ypY4zhttp://fwwat.ch/17ypY4z


16/40



Corporations have been successful in marketing geneticallyengineered crops as a silver bullet for feeding the world.

What does Food & Water Watch say about that?We hear ha all he ime, abou every idea he ood indusry has rom geneically engineered crops o he

laes plan o cu mea inspecion, you name i. Theyre always saying, This is how were going o eed he

world. Sounds good, bu is usually no rue. Wha hey really mean bu don say, excep I suspec in

corporae boardrooms is his is how we are going o make more money. So, speciically or bioechnology,

were now 15, 20 years ino his experimen, and i isn producing beter yields. I isn producing beter crops,

and is causing so many oher problems ha hey never alked abou: he weeds don die when we rea

hem wih he chemicals anymore, armers are paying oo much or and have less choices or all o heir seeds

because he seed supply is now largely conrolled by a ew companies like Monsano he lis goes on and

on. So he hype ha we ge rom hese companies is no he realiy o wha were seeing in he ood supply.

Can you talk a little bit about the purpose of the Food Program?

Food issues rom producion, o sorage, o processing, o disribuion, o reail are enormously com-

plex and iner-relaed. So we encompass all kinds o issues when we alk abou ood. We do a lo around

wha people would radiionally call ood saey: is his somehing has sae and wholesome o ea? So we

alk abou mea inspecion and he rules or ha. Do we have he righ rules? Are we enorcing hose rules?

FOOD: WHAT WE FIGHT FOR

PATTY LOVERA

Food & Water Watchs food programcombines policy research, strategic

communications, lobbying and grassroots organizing to advocate for policies that will

result in sustainable and secure food systems that provide healthy food for consumers

and an economically viable living for family farmers and rural communities.


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Are here enough resources or mea inspecors o go ou here and enorce he rules? We

do a lo o work o ensure ha you can know abou your ood, ha i is appropriaely la-

beled wih inormaion so ha you can igure ou how your ood was produced and where.

Bu we also ie hose issues back o he larger ood sysem and how your ood is produced.

All he labeling in he world will no save you rom a broken ood sysem ha produc-es unhealhy ood. Thas why we alk abou he Farm Bill, abou ani-rus issues and

inernaional rade agreemens Why are he companies ha make our ood so big and so

powerul ha hey have more o a say abou he ood supply han we do? So, we ie hose

issues ha are on our plae back o he ood sysem has bringing hem o us and ry o

change ha policy as well.

What are the Food Programsshort- and long-term goals and objectives?

In any given year, were always alking abou he budges or imporan hings like ood

saey. Were always ighing o mainain hose resources so we can enorce he rules we

Victories for safe and healthy food in 2012: Passed a bill in the Maryland state legislature to ban arsenic in poultry feed, which is a sig-

nificant threat to the health of those who eat chicken as well as a major contributor to pollution in the

Chesapeake Bay (the bill went into effect in 2013.)

Convinced the Obama administration to appeal the World Trade Organization decisionthat

would have removed County of Origin Labeling on our food products.

Implemented a broad campaign against Walmarts plans to sell genetically engineered sweet

corn.During the campaign, we generated more than 118,000 petition signatures against Walmarts

plans and 8,900 phone calls to Walmart headquarters and organized 150 events at local Walmart

stores across the country. The campaign culminated in a national day of action on March 17. The cam-

paign provided a great way to build support for labeling issues and for a fair Farm Bill.

Launched a new advocacy effort aimed at the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDAs) new

proposal to streamline poultry inspectionby allowing for industry self-inspection and speeding

up processing lines. We are connecting this effort to overall food safety and worker safety issues and pre-

vented the USDA from making this change to inspection in 2012.

Organized ongoing and extensive campaigns around the issue of genetically engineered (GE)

food labelingin Colorado, New Mexico, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey and Wash-

ington, and helped to support Californias Proposition 37, which was narrowly defeated and would have

mandated labeling of GE food.

Released a new in-depth report in October, The Economic Costs of Food Monopolies, that

takes on one of the myths that props up our broken food system: the idea that the industrialized food

production system is good for the economy. The report generated important discussion and debate

among agricultural groups and in the farming community.


18/40



already have. Coming up, were going o be alking a lo more abou rade agreemens and

how much ood we impor and he saey risks posed by oods impored rom counries

wih lax ood saey policies. Were also going o coninue alking a lo abou differen

echnologies like geneically engineered crops ha radically change our ood supply. The

shor-erm piece o ha is calling or labeling o he oods so we can decide or ourselves,

bu in he long erm, we really need o look a he saey and alk abou wheher we

should be growing hose crops a all.

What was the biggest challenge of the yearfor your work here at Food & Water Watch?

I was a ough year poliically in erms o geting hings done in eiher sae legislaures or

in Washingon, D.C. I don hink has a shock o people who wach he news, righ? There

was a lo o gridlock, a lo o rouble acually

geting eleced officials o do heir jobs and

no jus blow a lo o ho air bu acually move

some o hese policies and change some o he

rules. We worked hard o make hem aware o

wha we expec hem o do and wha he solu-

ions are. Bu hey had a lo o excuses no o do hings his year. There was a lo o ussing

and ighing o legislaures and Congress, and ha gave hem an excuse no o move he ball

Tha is rusraing because ood policy affecs everyone.

What does the support of our members and volunteersmean to you and the Food Program and our work overall?

Well, we need people involved. You know, wheher youre new or youre a long-ime sup-

porer o Food & Waer Wach, has how were going o move hese eleced officials. Thas

a irs sep oward changing hese policies i people are educaed and hopeully hey

come o us o learn more and igure ou wha he policy problem is wih somehing heyre

concerned abou. Bu hen he nex sep is even more criical, because people have o ge

acive hey have o ake he nex sep and pick up he phone and call heir member o

Congress or wrie o hem or e-mail hem and ge involved in some way. Thas wha we

need, and he more people we have helping us do ha, has how were going o change he

ood sysem so ha we can ge sae and healhy ood grown in a susainable way.

Everybody knows were dealing wih really big powerul ineress ood companies, agri-

business and we go oe-o-oe wih hem on Capiol Hill or a he regulaory agencies like

he USDA and FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Adminisraion]. Bu, hey have a lo o money and

an army o lobbyiss; we have a litle money and a ew lobbyiss. Wha we do have is people.

I is only by building a movemen o concerned ciizens ha we can ge he changes we need

It was a tough year politically in terms

of getting things done in either state

legislatures or in Washington, D.C.


19/40



A lo o people eel ha hey are helping he ood sysem by going and supporing heir local

armers a armers markes or by joining CSAs [Communiy Suppored Agriculure projecs].

So, how does he work ha we do here a Food & Waer Wach, especially on he Farm Bill,

go beyond how people shop? And wha needs o happen beyond consumer choices?

We love local ood. I hink all o us here look o ha, personally, as a beter way o eedourselves. We see a lo o advanages o i you ge more inormaion he closer you can ge

o your armer, your money says in your communiy has all anasic suff, and i shows

we can raise ood in a differen way han wha agribusiness is elling us. Bu, unorunaely,

we don hink we can jus shop our way ou o hese problems. We go ino his mess wih

many decades o bad policy

or example, no enorcemen o

environmenal rules or anirus

policies and were going o have

o change hose rules o really ix

his bigger, broken sysem. Is

very convenien o say: Oh, here

jus shouldn be a Farm Bill. We

don need a Farm Bill. Why do you have programs where you give subsidies o cerain arm-

ers and no ohers? You should jus end i, and ha will sor hese problems ou. Unoru-

naely, is jus no ha simple.

We have a sysem or ood has differen han any oher produc because ood is differen

han any oher produc. So, we have o igure ou a smar way o manage hose supplies in

a air markeplace which is going o ake he governmen doing some regulaing o ha

markeplace o make sure we have a sable ood supply ha serves he whole counry, no

jus urban areas or olks who have he resources o access armers markes or CSAs. Unor-

unaely, ha leaves way oo many people ou o luck. We have o have a beter ood sysem,

which requires us o look a i in a much more holisic and sysemaic way. Thas why we

do a lo o research and a lo o alking o armers, processors and disribuors o igure ou

whas acually going o work.

Can you talk about some of the major thingsthat your team accomplished this year?

Yes i was a busy year. Is an unorunae realiy ha weve had o spend a lo o ime

ighing o keep progress weve already made. For example, here were some really ough a-

acks on mea inspecion, paricularly or chicken, in 2012. The governmen, a he behes o

he chicken indusry, is rying o implemen a new inspecion regime ha essenially leaves i

up o he companies o do heir own inspecions on he processing line, raher han an inde-

penden governmen inspecor o essenially sel-police, which we hink is a errible idea.

We were successul in holding ha off or anoher year, and he old governmen inspecion

We got into this mess with many decades of

bad policy for example, no enforcement of

environmental rules or antitrust policies and

were going to have to change those rules to


20/40



program or chickens is sill in place. We also ough agains he approval o geneically engi-

neered salmon. The governmen didn approve i in 2012, so we know nex year we are going

o keep rying o block i rom hiting he marke.

This year, Food & Waer Wach did a lo o work o

oppose geneically engineered ood. In he spring, we dida corporae campaign o ry o ge reailers o agree no

o sell GE swee corn (as opposed o corn ha goes ino

corn syrup or animal eed) in he wake o a USDA deci-

sion o allow i on he marke. So, once we los on ha,

we urned our atenion o he big grocery reailers o go

afer big buyers o ge hem o no sell i. Some compa-

nies sepped up and said hey wouldn like Whole

Foods and Trader Joes bu we decided o really go afe

Walmar since hey are he larges ood reailer. We had really good publiciy, and a lo o

olks go involved. They didn acually commi o no carrying he corn, because hey don

like o show heir hand a wha heyre doing, bu we did have a lo o people ge involved and

showed how much power Walmar has in he ood supply.

Also, here was a really huge movemen in Caliornia because hey had a ballo iniiaive, Pro

37, which would have required GE oods o be labeled. Tha was a big effor ha we helped

ou in. I came really close, and i sparked a lo o aciviy all over he counry or he coming

year in sae legislaures o call or GE labeling. So, i was a good kick-off o a really big na-

ional grassroos campaign ha a lo o olks are helping ou wih o call or ha labeling.

On he oher coas, in Maryland, we ook a lead role in helping pass a bill ha bans he use oa speciic drug in raising chickens here. Tha drug is made ou o arsenic, which seems crazy

bu is allowed. So Maryland is he irs sae in he counry o ban his arsenic drug or chick-

en producion. This is grea news or consumers and he environmen in Maryland because

mos o he eed conaining arsenic came ou he back end o he chicken, and ha wase

says in Maryland, even i he chicken is sold somewhere else. So his is going o be a huge

improvemen or he saes public healh and environmen, in paricular because he Chesa-

peake Bay has been on he receiving side o polluion lowing off o acory arms here.

We also fought against

the approval of genetically

engineered salmon. The

government didnt approve it

in 2012, so we know next year

we are going to keep trying to

block it from hitting the market.

Listen to an excerpt of this conversation athttp://fwwat.ch/HXf5Op
http://fwwat.ch/HXf5Ophttp://fwwat.ch/HXf5Ophttp://fwwat.ch/HXf5Op


21/40

2012 Annual Report


The oil and gas industry has framed natural gasas a solution to climate change, and it also claimsthat gas will provide energy security and jobs.So why does Food & Water Watch want to ban fracking?

Well, he oil and gas indusry is spending millions o dollars rying o convince he American people o jus

ha, because hey sand o gain, inancially, rom exracing every las drop o ossil uel rom he Earh

even a he expense o our essenial waer resources, our ood, our saey and he healh o our amilies

and our communiies. And a Food & Waer Wach, we are heeding he warnings o he climae scieniss

who are saying ha he only way o aver caasrophic climae change is o keep ossil uels in he ground

and o aggressively ransiion o renewable energy and increase energy efficiency and conservaion.

A common heme o all o our work is ha we believe we should demand wha we need or sae ood and

clean waer, no jus wha we hink is poliically expedien or possible. And has why were working or a

ban on racking, across he counry and around he world.

WATER, FRACKINGAND ADVOCATING IN

THE PUBLIC INTEREST

EMILY WURTH

Food & Water Watchs water program combines policy expertise, research, strategic

communications, litigation and grassroots organizing to advocate for public control

of water resources and services, strong conservation measures and tough regulation

of toxic emissions. The policies we promote will result in safe and affordable drinking

water for everyone and ensure that our water resources are managed in the

public interest as a shared common resource.


22/40



Can you talk about the purpose of thewater program at Food & Water Watch?

Waer is lierally our mos essenial resource. Lie canno exis wihou i. Ye we are

increasingly dealing wih an economic sysem ha wans o commodiy i and rea i asjus anoher resource, o be governed by he supply-and-demand dicaes o he marke.

So, we are very concerned abou he increasing rend o privaizaion o our waer resourc-

es. This includes mulinaional corporaions, which are increasingly ineresed in aking

over our public drinking waer and sewer sysems o generae proi or heir sharehold-

ers. Were also concerned abou he botled waer indusry and he oil and gas indusry

exracing our essenial groundwaer and surace waer and using i or heir proi. Thas

why were working o saeguard our essenial waer resources hrough a combinaion o

research, policy advocacy and grassroos organizing.

Progress in our campaigns for clean water for all: Increased the number of Take Back the Tap student campaignsto its highest total ever, with

student leaders at 60 campuses. With our new system of regular training workshops for new studen

leaders, we expect this number to grow.

Announced the formation of new coalitions to ban fracking:New Yorkers Against Fracking

launched in New York State in March 2012, and Americans Against Fracking, a national coalition to

ban fracking, launched in December 2012.

Organized the Global Frackdown, a massive day of action to ban fracking. On this single day,

September 22, actions took place across the world, with over 200 actions in 20 countries across fivecontinents. The day of action was endorsed by 180 organizations.

Helped to get an effective indefinite fracking moratoriumpassed in the Vermont legislature.

Played an important role in the New Jersey Legislatures passing, with overwhelming bi-par-

tisan support, of a ban on fracking waste dumping, treatment and storage in the state, which awaits

the governors signature.

Officially launched our statewide ban fracking campaign in California, which very quickly

garnered the support of over 55,000 Californians who signed the petition calling on Governor Jerry

Brown to ban fracking in the state.

Passed a historic ballot measure in the City of Longmont, Colorado, which has fundamentallychanged the conversation around fracking in the state.

Won at least a partial victory when the California legislature voted again to delay the vote on

the $11 billion water bond slated for the November ballot, although our preference would have been

for the bond to be permanently repealed rather than delayed. This will have to be a more complete

victory in 2014.


23/40



What are some of the most important thingsthat your team has accomplished this year?

Over he pas year, we expanded our campaign agains botled waer, Take Back he Tap.

Over he pas 30 years, waer is increasingly being exraced rom local communiies,packaged ino plasic botles and hen re-sold a an incredible markup. As par o heir

markeing, hese companies have implicily and explicily sold he noion ha public wa-

er is no sae. Through Take Back he Tap, we are educaing people abou he imporance

o invesing in and drinking ap waer and dispelling he myhs ha he slick adverising o

he botled waer indusry has pu ou here. So, we work on college campuses across he

counry, and las year we expanded our Take Back he Tap program o over 60 campuses.

While all o he work o proec our waer is imporan, our bigges campaign has been our

naional and sae effors o ban racking. Fracking is an incredibly imporan issue, as i

sis a he inersecion o our ood and waer issues. Mos imporanly, sopping rackingand he muli-billion (i no rillion) dollar invesmen in ye more ossil uels is absoluely

criical or us o comba climae change and begin he real invesmens we need in clean,

renewable energy and in conservaion. Forunaely, we are really beginning o have an

impac in changing he naional debae abou racking and our uure.

Food & Waer Wach was he irs naional organizaion o come ou or a ban on racking

in he summer o 2011. We were sanding in solidariy wih he grassroos groups across

he counry ha said, We jus

don wan his in our commu-

niy. Bu i was prety lonely.There were no many groups

who had decided hey would join

us in making ha srong demand

and asking or really wha hey

believe in. Bu by he end o

2012, we ormed a naional coali-

ion wih key allies across he counry including 350.org, CREDO, Democracy or America,

as well as over 200 grassroos and sae organizaions o orm Americans Agains Fracking,

a naional coaliion or a ban.

We worked wih our allies in New York Sae, which has really been ground-zero or he

igh agains racking. There has been incredible energy rom he grassroos groups in

New York Sae over he pas ive years, coming ogeher and making i poliically impossi-

ble or Governor Cuomo o move orward wih racking. And orming New Yorkers Agains

Fracking las March was deiniely a highligh o 2012. We believe ha we will ulimaely

keep racking rom coming o New York hrough working wih our allies here.

By the end of 2012, we formed a national

coalition with key allies across the countryincluding 350.org, CREDO, Democracy for

America, as well as over 200 grassroots and

state organizations to form Americans Against

Fracking, a national coalition for a ban.


24/40



We are puting he same kind o energy and effor ino saes around he counry, like Col-

orado, Caliornia, Ohio, Norh Carolina, Maryland and ohers. We are inding ha rack-

ing cus across parisan poliical lines when i is in peoples backyards, hey really don

wan i o happen. Im mos encouraged, however, by he ac ha more and more people

who don live in an area ha migh be racked are geting involved and working wih us

o sop racking. They undersand ha racking or every las drop o ossil uel is a hrea

o everybody.

Can you talk about the Global Frackdown?

In 2012, we held he irs-ever inernaional day o acion agains racking: he Global

Frackdown. We had more han 200 acions in 20 counries across he world on ive differ-

en coninens. And, ha was a very powerul day o acion o show ha his is no jus a

naional environmenal movemen his is an inernaional movemen, and really one o

he leading environmenal movemens in he world.

What are some of the challenges that you face in yourwork, and what frustrates you most in accomplishing it?

Well, were going up agains some o he mos powerul indusries ou here. The oil and

gas indusry has all he money a is disposal ha i needs or lashy adverising cam-

paigns, as well as o work in every sae across he counry. And all o hese ighs are hap-

pening a he sae level. So a challenge is keeping up wih all o he work. For insance, we

now see ha racking is being used or oilin Caliornia has a real poenial hrea

here and somehing ha we expec o

work on inensively in 2013.

Then heres he challenge o going up

agains he remendous amoun o money

ha he oil and gas indusry has a is dis-

posal o work agains our effors. Theres no

beter example o ha han in Longmon,

Colorado, where he communiy decided ha i did no wan racking, and local residenswaned o have a ban, and hey ook i o he ballo in November 2012. The indusry spen

almos hal a million dollars, in his one small municipaliy in Colorado, in an effor o keep

he communiy rom passing an ordinance o zone ou indusrial oil and gas racking. And

alhough ighing he indusry was a major challenge, i was also a grea vicory because, in

he end, he hard work o he communiy coming ogeher and working and organizing a

he grassroos level, and educaing heir riends and neighbors, ended up being successul,

Were going up against some of the

most powerful industries out there. The

oil and gas industry has all the money

at its disposal that it needs for flashy

advertising campaigns, as well as to

work in every state across the country.


25/40



and Longmon passed he irs ban on racking in Colorado. So we ry o urn challenges

ino opporuniies and vicories a Food & Waer Wach.

Anoher issue we ace is ha many environmenal organizaions or years have promoed

naural gas as par o heir energy plan. Is been a real challenge or us a Food & Waer

Wach coming ou or a ban, because manyenvironmenal groups are working insead

o ge sronger regulaions on his indusry.

Thas been very difficul or our work in

saes where some in he environmenal

communiy have been quick o compromise

raher han o ake on he enrenched power

o he oil and gas indusry. Our botom line is differen we are ighing or wha we need

over he long erm o proec our essenial resources and o aver climae change.

Whats your background and whatbrought you to Food & Water Watch?

I have a masers degree in public healh, and when I was in public healh school I was

sruck by he ac ha some o my classmaes were very ineresed in individual-level

behavior change or insance, o ry o ge people o qui smoking so ha hey had

beter healh oucomes. I was always ineresed in how o make higher-level policy change

ha would affec more people. So when I ound ou abou Food & Waer Wach, I was so

pleased o be able o ind work ha is rying o reorm he policies over he long erm ha

will improve healh oucomes o saeguard our waer and o increase ood saey and he

healhulness o he ood ha we ea. So has why I work here.

Our bottom line is different we are

long term to protect our essential

resources and to avert climate change.

Listen to an excerpt of this conversation athttp://fwwat.ch/1gCmAGa
http://fwwat.ch/1gCmAGahttp://fwwat.ch/1gCmAGahttp://fwwat.ch/1gCmAGa


26/40


27/40



o reducing polluion, bu we see no evidence ha hese programs acually work. In ac,

weve looked across a specrum o ypes o polluion (rom polluion o our waerways o

polluion o our air), and we haven ound a single insance where one o hese pay-o-pol-

lue schemes has acually lived up o he markeing by reducing polluion in any meaning-

ul way. However, i has been grea or he botom lines o some o he polluers.

So wha we advocae insead is, I you wan o reduce polluion, reduce polluion. We

ell people ha hey have o ge higher uel-economy sandards, ha hey have o reduce

polluion rom he end o a smokesack on a acory. Bu wha you can do is simply pu

a price on polluion. A he end o he day, large companies have he money o afford o

coninue o pollue. And all heyre doing by creaing hese markes is creaing a new place

or inancial ineress, such as Wall Sree irms, o ge involved in speculaing in hese

new markes. We see his already wih carbon markes ha have been creaed across he

counry, wih olks looking o inves in hose schemes in a speculaive way, hoping ha he

prices will rise and heyll be able o make money off o hem.

Financializaion o naure is a raher unorunae erm ha was coined ouside he Uni-

ed Saes. A lo o our inernaional allies have been working or a long ime agains pay-

o-pollue schemes o privaize environmenal regulaion, which have been used primarily

in he Global Souh as a means o privaize common resources in he guise o polluion

reducion or ores proecion. And wha his does is o

pu a moneary value, a price, on naure. Wheher is a

ores, carbon polluion, clean air or clean waer, we pua price on i. And when we pu a price on i, we creae a

marke or i and hen we also privaize i.

So we ake a ores ha was communal, and, because o

a desire o proec i, we give i a dollar value o say, 50

billion dollars or 50 billion Euros. We hen allow privae

acors like companies or governmens o come in and

begin buying he righ o proec par o i, which gives

hem a moneary value or sake. And on op o ha is

hen buil a inancial inrasrucure o speculaive deals very similar o he ones ha wesaw leading up he inancial crisis o 2007/8, where uures conracs, opions conracs,

credi deaul swaps, he whole range o hese so-called innovaive inancial insrumens

ha collapsed our economy, are being ranserred rom he housing marke o hese new

environmenal markes or carbon or o proec our oress.

What this does is to put a

monetary value, a price, onnature. Whether its a forest,

carbon pollution, clean air or

clean water, we put a price on

it. And when we put a price

on it, we create a market for it

and then we also privatize it.


28/40



What is the most important thing orthings your team accomplished this year?

Weve been able o bring ogeher oher organizaions here in Washingon and across he

counry o alk abou how were going o urn back agains his marke-based pay-o-pollue sysem in order o pu some energy behind wha we know works: I you wan o

reduce polluion, reduce polluion and do ha by developing new echnologies ha have

less oupu o polluion han old echnologies.

What issues are you currently focused on,and what is your team prioritizing now?

We have become alarmed by some new global rade deals ha are being negoiaed, and

weve added hose o our porolio o issues on our Common Resources eam. In paricular,we have deep concerns abou he Trans-Paciic Parnership (TPP), which is currenly made

up o 12 member naions negoiaing a so-called

Free Trade Ac or he Paciic Rim. We are con-

cerned abou he abiliy o hese naions o have

ood saey sandards ha mee our own. In ac,

we know ha even now, wihou hese ree rade

agreemens, heres a problem wih unsae ood

being shipped in rom hese counries. This is

paricularly roubling when i comes o he ish

ha we impor rom hese counries, especially he shellish. We know ha hey are raised

wih drugs such as anibioics ha would be illegal o use here bu are legally used here.

Beyond ha, we know ha he TPP is a corporae power grab. I esablishes a new re-

gime under which corporaions are given equal saus o counries, and corporaions can

sue governmens boh a he naional and local level o overurn laws inended o proec

he public and he environmen ha violae he erms o his rade agreemen. And many

people don know ha a rade agreemen is essenially a reay which means ha i

rumps any domesic law. A similar agreemen is being negoiaed wih he European

Union. Wha we would like o do over he nex year is work on ighing agains hese rade

deals, and we are working wih a variey o organizaions across he U.S. o do ha.

How do these trade deals affect our communities?

The TPP and he EU-US ree rade agreemen are dangerous primarily because hey can

undermine our laws ha proec us. For example, a lo o localiies are passing laws o ban

racking. Unorunaely, a lo o he companies ha are pursuing racking in he U.S. have

We have become alarmed by some

new global trade deals that are

being negotiated, and weve added

those to our portfolio of issues on

our Common Resources team.

PHOTOBYSUSANWOZNY


29/40



oreign invesors or are oreign owned. Under hese rade deals, hey would be able o sue

local governmens, claiming ha hey are having heir righ o exploi his naural resource

undermined by he local bans. And hey would eiher be able o seek o overurn hose

local bans or o seek moneary compensaion rom he localiies because heyre no able

o rack or naural gas. We see his has already happened under NAFTA [he Norh Amer-

ican Free Trade Agreemen] in Canada, where a localiy is being sued in Qebec or no

allowing racking. I will mean ha our atemps o igh agains his inherenly dangerous

process will be undermined by rade deals and reaies ha rump American law.

A lot of this work that you do on the CommonResources team seems pretty complicated.Can you talk about why its so important that ourmembers and our volunteers get engaged on them?

I hink is vial ha Food & Waer Wach members and supporers ge engaged in he

common resources issues, or a number o reasons. One, a he end o he day, when we

alk abou hese global rade deals, when we alk abou he privaizaion o our common

resources, his affecs every ciizen

and he way ha heyre able o live

and proec heir own amilies. These

deals make i more difficul or a amily,

localiy or communiy o esablish he

rules and laws hey wan, o make sure

ha heir air is clean, ha heir waer is

drinkable, and ha heir ood is sae. So

when our members ake acion o convince policymakers o no move orward wih global

rade deals ha undermine our abiliy o proec ourselves, and o no move orward wih

pay-o-pollue sysems ha jus mean ha were going o coninue o diry our waerways,

his is imporan because i acually proecs us, where we live, our amilies, our kids, our

loved ones.

Can you tell us a bit about why the

The commodiicaion o waer, such as hrough botled waer, is a bad rend or ciizens

because is aking a human righ he righ o waer, which we believe is a common

resource ha should be held in he public rus and giving i away o privae companies,

wheher hey be privae waer botlers or (in he uure) inancial speculaors in he waer

marke. The chie economis a Ciibank has writen recenly abou his desire o creae a

family, locality or community to establish

the rules and laws they want, to make

sure that their air is clean, that their water

is drinkable, and that their food is safe.


30/40



worldwide waer marke, which would be similar o he oil marke ha we already have,

bu would be larger, he says, han he oil, whea, gold and silver markes combined.

Wha were alking abou is aking our waer resources, privaizing hem, giving hem o

privae companies (in his case, banks and hedge unds) and allowing hem o rade he

waer in an open marke. Now, we already know wha happens wih he volailiy o oilprices: gas prices all and rise, i becomes more

expensive or people o ge o work and o do he

hings hey need o do. Imagine wha happens

when we do ha wih waer: were no alking

abou he abiliy o convenienly ge rom place A

o B were alking abou, nex o air, he mos

essenial hing we need o keep ourselves alive.

And he idea ha were going o creae a global

marke, wih a price ha will lucuae wildlyand will be conrolled primarily by banks on Wall

Sree, is appalling, because wha i means is ha

your abiliy o ge waer or cooking, cleaning

and drinking is going o be deermined no by our

local governmens or a local rae board, bu insead by somebody working on Wall Sree

speculaing on he uure price o waer or growing coton in he deser or botling waer

in India. And hais a erribly righening prospec. Bu again, we know ha his is being

hough abou because he chie economis a Ciibank has said so publicly. This is he

dream: a global waer marke, like he oil marke. We can allow ha o happen.

What it means is that your ability to

get water for cooking, cleaning and

drinking is going to be determined

not by our local governments or

a local rate board, but instead by

somebody working on Wall Street

speculating on the future price ofwater for growing cotton in the

desert or bottling water in India.

Listen to an excerpt of this conversation athttp://fwwat.ch/1accGcQ
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2012 Annual Report


Youve sued the federal government over the pollution-tradingprovisions in its plan to clean the Chesapeake Bay. Whats abetter solution to factory farm pollution?

The Clean Waer Ac has been in place now or over our decades, and hroughou ha ime weve man-

aged o clean up almos every indusry paper mills, coal-ired power plans, manuacurers by having

enorcemen and permiting and all he hings ha have shown o be a real benei o our waerways.

These indusries have o comply wih laws, hey have o comply wih inspecions, hey have o go ou and

monior heir wase. They have o operae in compleely ransparen manners, and in ways ha enable

ciizens o engage ways ha empower he people o he Unied Saes o go ou and orce hese indus-

ries o clean up he waerways. The excepion has been agriculure. For years now, we have come up wih

very creaive and ineffecive ways o ry o deal wih agriculural polluion. Is no coincidence ha agricul-

ure is he larges source o polluion in his counry. And i remains he mos highly unregulaed source o

polluion in he counry.

LEGAL ADVOCACY FOROUR FOOD AND WATER

SCOTT EDWARDS

In late 2011, Food & Water Watch launched a new legal advocacy project, Food & Water Justice is bringing a new, complementary

approach to our already very successful community organizing, policy and

legislative work. Through Food & Water Justice, we are using the courts

as a vehicle for positive change by designing and implementing litigation

and regulatory strategies to protect our food and water.


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Polluion rading was creaed by olks who wan o deregulae no only he ag indusry,

bu all indusries, by creaing his marke-based approach. I ollows on he heels o de-

cades o volunary approaches or ag polluion. Everyhing rom manure ranser pro-

grams o cos-share programs, all kinds o unding or hese volunary programs ha have

done nohing o clean up agriculure. I

coninues o plague our waerways wih

remendous amouns o los o differen

kinds o polluans.

A Food & Waer Wach, we hink ha

i you wan o clean up agriculure, he

answer is obvious: you do wha youve

done wih coal-ired power plans, you

do wha youve done wih paper mills,

wih manuacuring sysems. You imple-

men permiting sysems, ransparency,

all he hings ha have proven successul. And, in a mater o years, you will sar o see

undamenal changes in he way agriculure operaes, in he way ha i pollues or hope-

ully doesn pollue. And you creae a much more successul sysem o polluion conrol

han you will ever ge wih somehing like waer polluion rading.

What is the purpose of theFood & Water Justice Program?

Qie rankly, weve seen in oo many cases ha he legislaive branch o governmen

seems o be doing whas bes or re-elecion, and no necessarily whas bes or he coun-

ry (or he sae, couny or ciy or ha mater). We hink ha he judiciary branch plays

an imporan role here oo. I you look back o many o our movemens, especially he civil

righs movemen, some o he Supreme Cours decisions were insrumenal in promoing

civil righs. Grassroos movemens and legislaive change were imporan oo, bu he

judiciary branch was an inegral par o change. We don hink i operaes in a vacuum,

o course. We hink ha lawsuis are bes brough in combinaion wih grassroos aciv-

iy and communiy work. Bu we hink liigaion can be a very powerul ool. So Food &

Waer Jusice looks o implemen and o use ha ool where we can o promoe he worko Food & Waer Wach.

At Food & Water Watch, we think thatif you want to clean up agriculture, the

answer is obvious: you do what youve

what youve done with paper mills, with

manufacturing systems. You implement

permitting systems, transparency, all the

things that have proven successful.


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What was the most important thingthat your team accomplished this year?

When my parner Michele Merkel and I came o Food & Waer Wach, we had or years

been looking a his issue o waer polluion rading. To us, wha seemed o be a hugelyderimenal impac on our waerways surprisingly was suppored by mos o he envi-

ronmenal communiy. I you look a he Chesapeake Bay, where waer polluion rading

has really aken hold hrough he Bay TMDL (essenially he Chesapeake Bay clean up

plan), we aced a remendous amoun o opposiion rom groups ha oherwise have been

somewha good on he environmen. So I would say ha our bigges success o dae is he

ac ha, despie all ha adversiy, we were able o ge a complain iled in ederal cour

challenging rading. Im proud o say ha ours was he irs challenge o his whole new

approach o waer qualiy and polluion conrol.

Can you talk about the biggest challengesyouve faced this year and what frustrates you?

There are several challenges in doing his work, as everybody here knows. I hink, increas-

ingly, some o he big naional groups seem o be in a mode in which poliical expediency

has overaken doing whas righ. Is becoming harder and harder o sand up or whas

ruly righ and or wha is bes or he people, or

communiies, or our waerways. Because now,

when you look a he environmenal movemen,

is abou cuting deals. Is abou doing whas

more palaable o he ruling paries. Is abou

geting wha you migh be able o ge, as opposed

o wha you wan or wha you need.

And is no jus in waer polluion rading we

see i in he indusrial agriculure work we do, we

see i in racking. We see oo many groups ha

are always willing o really compromise more

han we should i we really care abou he environmen and our uure. A his poin, we

can afford business as usual we mus igh or whas righ. I sared his work years

and years ago, and we were always up agains he polluers or indusry or someimes gov-

ernmen, bu now you someimes ind yoursel up agains oher environmenal groups as

well. Tha makes he work a lo more challenging and a lo harder o ge done.

I think, increasingly, some of the

big national groups seem to be in a

mode in which political expediency

has overtaken doing whats right.

Its becoming harder and harder to

stand up for whats truly right and

for what is best for the people, for

communities, for our waterways.

PHOTOJESSICARIEHL


34/40



What does Food & Water Justicehope to accomplish in 2013?

We plan on coninuing much o he same work were doing now. We will ocus on indus-

rial agriculural sysems and rying o reorm he ag indusry o make i more responsibleand more ransparen. Waer polluion rading is hugely imporan and will coninue o

be imporan. There is a hugely imporan case or us ou in Colorado on racking, where

Longmon democraically enaced a ban on racking and he indusry has sepped in o

ry o srip away he democraic righs o he people and communiy o ry o overurn he

ban. So we have a number o legal issues ha we hope o win on over he nex couple o

years.

What does the support of our members

and our volunteers mean to your program,and to the work of Food & Water Watch?

The work we do is no done in a vacuum. We don save and igh or cleaner waerways

jus or he waers sake. We igh or communiies communiies are hugely imporan

o us and o our work. We are ighing in Longmon

because a group o people here sood up and said:

We don wan racking in our communiy. Is

imporan or us o no have racking, is impor-

an o us ha we raise our children wihou being

poisoned hrough racking wase. And here is an

indusry ha sepped in o ry o undo he will o

he people. So when we have hese batles, hese batles are being ough or communiies,

or our members, or our supporers. Thas he basis or all legal acions.

You were previously involved in a lawsuit againstthe chicken processor Perdue. That case was lost,

In ha case, he plainiffs were seeking o hold Perdue accounable or he wase and he

polluion ha pours off o is conrac arms. And Perdue is no he only company ha

does his. All o he big poulry arms Tyson, Sanderson, Smihield, he res o he ac-

ory arm indusry hese indusries run hese arms and benei grealy rom producion

And a he end o he day, hey end up walking away rom huge amouns o wase ha

pour off o hese aciliies, saying he polluion is he responsibiliy o he conrac armer.

These battles are being fought for

communities, for our members,

for our supporters. Thats the

basis for all legal actions.


35/40



Well, in mos cases Perdue is really running he arm in all bu name, and cerainly aking

he lions share o he prois. We hink his is wrong. So his case was brough by Waer-

keeper Alliance o ry o name Perdue liable or he polluion has coming off he conrac

arms.

I was Perdues posiion ha hey could no be held liable or he polluion coming off hearm. And he cour compleely rejeced ha posiion and said no, under a cerain se o

acs, he law allows you o be liable. So ha was a

hugely imporan ruling. Now, he cour ulimaely

decided ha he se o acs in his paricular case

wasn here, bu we hink ha he case sends a

clear message ha liabiliy is on he able now o

an indusry has been operaing as i i can never

be liable. The Perdue case was he beginning o a

process, and is like many oher cases: you rarely

knock i ou o he park on he irs case. Ulimaely,

he cour decided agains us, bu is a beginning,

and is no over ye. And we are sill coniden ha

is only a mater o ime beore his indusry is held accounable or is wase. Is he righ

hing o do. Is righ under he law, and is he righ hing or our waerways and our

communiies.

only a matter of time before this

industry is held accountable

for its waste. Its the right thing

to do. Its right under the law,

and its the right thing for ourwaterways and our communities.

Listen to an excerpt of this conversation athttp://fwwat.ch/1ig1bo4
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36/40



Why does the work of the International Program matter?The inernaional work a Food & Waer Wach is

so essenial because he issues ha we are address-

ing are sysemic. From oo much money in poliics

o corporae inluence, heyre he same issues a

he local, he sae and he ederal level ha we are

also seeing inernaionally in global insiuions like

he Unied Naions and he World Bank and also in

oher counries. The corporae campaigns ha we are

ighing, wheher is Chevron and Shell and ohersdoing racking in he U.S. and abroad, or Monsano,

or Suez and Veolia who are privaizing waer sysems all o heir sraegies are similar around

he world. So i we can address hese issues a a sysemic level, hen our campaigns are much

sronger.

Whats the purpose of your program?

The purpose o our inernaional program a Food & Waer Wach is woold. On he one hand, we

aim o educae he U.S. audience abou whas happening inernaionally abou a variey o ood

and waer and naural resource issues. And likewise, inernaionally, we wan o raise awareness

abou whas happening in he Unied Saes. For example, wih an issue like racking, which o

course sared here in he U.S., weve had years o experience now in developing campaigns and

couner-alking poins agains he indusry ha we can share wih our colleagues abroad who are

now acing racking jus arriving o heir counries.

BRIDGING

ACTIVISM GLOBALLY

DARCEY OCALLAGHAN

The corporate campaigns that we

Shell and others doing fracking in the

U.S. and abroad, or Monsanto, or Suez

and Veolia who are privatizing water

systems all of their strategies are

similar around the world.


37/40



What was the most important thingyour team accomplished this year?

One o our big accomplishmens his year has been he release o he Bioech Ambassa-

dors repor, which has aken apar he U.S. sraegy o promoe bioechnology and gene-ically modiied organisms abroad. We spen he pas year developing a massive daabase

showing how his is being pushed sysemaically. We combed hrough he WikiLeaks

cablegae daabase and ound 926 cables ha speciically were reerencing U.S. embassies

effors o promoe bioechnology. Everyhing rom inluencing policy decision making

around labeling in places like Hong Kong, o helping o suppor he developmen o non-

governmenal organizaions in counries like Hungary and Peru.

What is your team prioritizing right now?

Righ now were looking a a couple o key areas, one being he expansion o racking

inernaionally and he oher being he issue o he Susainable Developmen Goals, which

are he ollow-up o he

Millennium Developmen

Goals in he UN sysem.

The Susainable Devel-

opmen Goals are really

imporan because his

is where we are seeing

he merging o economicdevelopmen inernaionally wih environmenal susainabiliy. And because heres a lo

o corporae inluence in his policy space, is really imporan ha were a he able and

were making sure ha communiies voices are heard.

Food & Water Watch is one of the feworganizations in the United States educatingpeople about the human right to water.

Could you tell us why that issue is important?In 2010, he global waer jusice movemen won a huge vicory when he UN General As-

sembly passed a resoluion in suppor o he human righ o waer. This is somehing ha

we had been working on or over 10 years, and is been a ool ha we can use globally o

ensure ha people are seeing heir human righs me. And waer privaizaion is an issue

no only around he world and in developing counries, bu also in he U.S., which a lo

Right now were looking at a couple of key areas,

one being the expansion of fracking internationally

and the other being the issue of the Sustainable

Development Goals, which are the follow-up to the

Millennium Development Goals in the UN system.


38/40



o people don know. We ofen see communiies in he Souh, or poor rural communiies,

communiies o color, ha don have access o heir daily righ-o-waer needs. And we

are increasingly seeing mulinaional corporaions atemping o buy up waer righs and

puting hemselves in direc compeiion wih local users.

How do you work with otherorganizations to achieve our goals?

Because our inernaional program is

small, we have o base our work on

where here is momenum globally and

where here are sronges effors on he

ground. So, all o our work is deeply

rooed in coaliions and grassroos work

For example, we were a core member o

creaing he Red Vida, he waer jus-

ice nework o he Americas. And is now looked a around he world as one o he bes

examples o coninen-wide coaliion work. So weve suppored each ohers campaigns

around he righ o waer and around keeping waer in public hands.

We were a core member of creating the

Red Vida, the water justice network of the

Americas. And its now looked at around

the world as one of the best examples of

continent-wide coalition work.

Listen to an excerpt of this conversation athttp://fwwat.ch/177KypZ
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39/40

11thHour Project

Allstadt Hardin Foundation

Bellwether

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation

Boston Foundation

Dr. Bronners Family Foundation

The Brightwater FundCloud Mountain Foundation

Columbus Foundation

Compton

Franklin Conklin Foundation

Dale Family Fund of San Francisco Foundation

Bob & Eileen Gilman Family Foundation

Greater Kansas City Foundation

Haberman Foundation

Hahn Family Foundation

Hickory Foundation

Kaufman Family Foundation

Maine Community Foundation

Merrill Family Charitable Foundation

Metabolic Studio

McKnightNew World Foundation

Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation

Park Foundation

Rose Foundation

Sustainable Markets Foundation

Tikvah Fund of Tides

The Walrath Family Foundation

The Westport Fund

PROGRAM

Food

Water

Common

Resources

TOTAL PROGRAM $9,010,344

MANAGEMENT $1,740,091

FUND RAISING $751,105

TOTAL EXPENSES $11,501,540

Grants and Contributions $11,830,628

Interest Income $95,826

Program Fees $63,618

Other $14,474

TOTAL INCOME $12,004,546

ENDING

NET ASSETS

as of December 31, 2012

$6,124,068

2012 Annual Report


40/40

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Food & Water Watch 2012 Annual Report