Questionable Ownership

Last Updated on March 9, 2021

Film Recommendation

Bottled Life (2012)

The Nestle Take on Water

This admittedly disturbing documentary follows some Nestle corporation’s business practices. As the planet’s largest food and beverage company, Nestle takes a pretty aggressive approach to how it pursues bottled water as a beverage product.

As the documentary unfolds, the viewer gets a glimpse of the manner in which this company exploits local environments, and corresponding governments, in the unquenchable pursuit of greater profits.

Lots & Lots of Water

While the realization of this corporate behavior can leave the viewer unsettled, it also encourages active involvement, as an informed citizenship (and consumer) can subsequently learn to make better choices. I encourage you to give it a view.

If you would like to to know more about Nestle’s water practices specifically, there are a number of really good articles out there that break it down, including Bloomberg‘s “Nestlé Makes Billions Bottling Water It Pays Nearly Nothing For” and “The Privatization of Water,” by the Centre for Research on Globalization.

The Extensive Reach of Nestle

So Who Really Owns Water

The nature of the debate revolves around the question of ownership when it comes to water rights. While it is undeniably an essential human need, Nestle argues on behalf of corporations. According to Nestle, companies should have the right to access public water and be able to profit from it.

They bring up a very good question. Who actually owns the water? Is it a public good, or rather something than belongs exclusively to citizens and living beings? Who’s need is greater? Watch this doc if you need help deciding.

Protect Water: The Campaign To Boycott Nestle

There have been numerous boycotts of Nestle products as a result of their nefarious corporate practices. This also includes the aggressive marketing of baby foods which resulted in the unnecessary death and suffering of infants (see Baby Milk Action).