Food and Water Watch (FWW) is a national organization fighting for clean water issues ranging from contamination from hydraulic fracturing (fracking), to pollution caused by factory farms (CAFOs), to the bottled water industry. Our insidious and dangerous food system, which we Americans like to think is the standard of safety for the world, is laid bare by Foodopoly, the new book written by FWW’s Executive Director, Wenonah Hauter. FWW has also just recently released two unsparing reports, one on Monsanto’s corporate history and the second on how our very U.S. State Department acts as “biotech ambassador” around the world for the seed industry. Please go to www.foodandwaterwatch.org to read these reports and many other reports and fact-sheets about these issues that are so immediate to our lives and to the health of our planet.
FWW has also been working for the labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods in Illinois with our “Let Me Decide” campaign. In the fall Senator David Koehler (D-Peoria) declared his support for labeling GE foods in Illinois, and he is holding Senate hearings this summer on the issue. FWW has been working closely with Senator Koehler to bring to the hearings qualified and impassioned speakers to stand up to anti-labeling “experts” who want to deny Illinois residents their right to know what is in their food. The second hearing will be held in Carbondale on the campus of Southern Illinois University on August 7, and the third in Chicago on September 17.
As for our local FWW group, we have been at the Farmers’ Market on two Saturdays and have really enjoyed talking with so many people (even those who did not agree with us!) about the issues surrounding GE crops and our right to know what’s in our food. We’ll be at the Market again on July 27. Come by. Chat with us. Sign our petition for labeling in Illinois. We were very lucky to have hooked up with Moms Across America just in time to join them in the July 4th parade. Come hook up with us!