Food and Water Watch
Encyclopedia
Food & Water Watch is a Washington, D.C.
-based non-governmental organization
and consumer rights group which focuses on corporate and government accountability relating to food, water, and fishing. Food and Water Watch employs a four pronged effort focusing on public and policymaker education, lobbying, media, and Internet activism
. Food & Water Watch became independent from its parent organization, Public Citizen
, in 2005.
Food & Water Watch was the first to break the news of the high rate of salmonella
in US chicken
processing plants in July 2006. Food and Water Watch has also been critical of the growing bottled water
industry for health and environmental concerns. On August 24, 2007, Food & Water Watch announced success in its effort to get Starbucks Coffee to stop using milk originating from rBGH-treated cows, after Starbucks, in a letter to executive director Wenonah Hauter, stated that by December 31, 2007, all of the dairy products used in company-operated stores would be produced with rBGH-free milk.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
-based non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
and consumer rights group which focuses on corporate and government accountability relating to food, water, and fishing. Food and Water Watch employs a four pronged effort focusing on public and policymaker education, lobbying, media, and Internet activism
Internet activism
Internet activism is the use of electronic communication technologies such as e-mail, the World Wide Web, and podcasts for various forms of activism to enable faster communications by citizen movements and the delivery of local information to a large audience...
. Food & Water Watch became independent from its parent organization, Public Citizen
Public Citizen
Public Citizen is a non-profit, consumer rights advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas. Public Citizen was founded by Ralph Nader in 1971, headed for 26 years by Joan Claybrook, and is now headed by Robert Weissman.-Lobbying Efforts:Public Citizen...
, in 2005.
Food & Water Watch was the first to break the news of the high rate of salmonella
Salmonella
Salmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...
in US chicken
Chicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
processing plants in July 2006. Food and Water Watch has also been critical of the growing bottled water
Bottled water
Bottled water is drinking water packaged in plastic or glass water bottles. Bottled water may be carbonated or not...
industry for health and environmental concerns. On August 24, 2007, Food & Water Watch announced success in its effort to get Starbucks Coffee to stop using milk originating from rBGH-treated cows, after Starbucks, in a letter to executive director Wenonah Hauter, stated that by December 31, 2007, all of the dairy products used in company-operated stores would be produced with rBGH-free milk.
Campaigns
- Fights against food irradiationIrradiationIrradiation is the process by which an object is exposed to radiation. The exposure can originate from various sources, including natural sources. Most frequently the term refers to ionizing radiation, and to a level of radiation that will serve a specific purpose, rather than radiation exposure to...
, including publication of Zapped: Irradiation and the Death of Food, a book co-authored by Hauter and Mark Worth. - Promotion of sustainable agricultureSustainable agricultureSustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
, local, organic farmingOrganic farmingOrganic farming is the form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost and biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and control pests on a farm...
and small-scale agricultureSmall-scale agricultureSmall-scale agriculture is an alternative to factory farming or more broadly, intensive agriculture or unsustainable farming methods that are prevalent in primarily first world countries. Environmental Health Perspectives has noted that " Sustainable agriculture is not merely a package of...
. - Restricting the practice of aquacultureAquacultureAquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
in American waters. - Protection of drinking waterDrinking waterDrinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
standards. - Efforts to prevent sourcing of milk from cows treated with rBGH.
See also
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- BiodiversityBiodiversityBiodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
- Global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
- RecyclingRecyclingRecycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
- EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
- Earth ScienceEarth scienceEarth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
- Natural environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....