If you name your $4-billion food conglomerate “The Wonderful Company,” you probably should strive extra hard not to let it become the horrible company.
The big bottled water companies are extractive industries, privatizing and profiting off of our increasingly scarce water resources. They have left a trail of depleted aquifers and diminished lake levels across the Great Lakes states where I live. They run the same playbook: come in quietly and acquire land under some obscure LLC, dump a sh*t-ton of technical information on local citizen planning boards at the last minute, and then count on the project being approved without decisionmakers understanding it, much less having the hydrogeologic expertise to evaluate it.
I am happy to report that one of those companies picked the wrong county - mine. With over 100 named natural lakes and innumerable wetlands and unnamed lakes, water is our county's lifeblood, and that is reflected in our comprehensive plan and zoning regs. They proposed to locate their wells and large bottling plant adjacent to one of the region's stellar wetlands, which happens to be a famous birding hotspot and fish and wildlife area to boot. Oops! They also didn't count on a couple of very seasoned hydrogeologists and ecologists being part of the local citizenry. We just kicked their butts back to whatever depleted aquifer they crawled out off, as they were forced to withdraw their petitions before a hearing could even be held.
Beware of the aforementioned playbook, and keep a hydrogeologist or two on speed dial. And beware also that, outside of a few local boutique brands, bottled "spring water" is nothing of the sort: its all groundwater, pumped from wells, treated, and bottled. If its not called "spring water", then its tap water. Its all a big scam.
We had no idea, Jim. Thanks for enlightening us about these bloodsucking. dehumanizing farm barons. We will never purchase another one of their products. Shame on them!
Thank you for the further information. Halo oranges/mandarins are now on my no-buy list too, along with Fiji Water. We are all hypocrites to some extent, but hypocrites who pretend to be environmentalists while they rip off their workers and the companies and places they source from are deeply despicable.
Imagine putting water in plastic bottles in Fiji or Tibet or some place and shipping it to the US. Lunacy. And here in Minnesota -once famous for clear cold clean water- many of our springs are now contaminated. we drank from springs when i was a pup- never got sick. Don't try it now.
Sounds just like the Trump family dedication to enormous selfish profits at expense of everyone else. ( I just reread mary trump's Too Much and Never Enough)
Maybe yoiu meant to say "without" instead of "with"? The immigrant worker and the working class carry them on their backs. Without them, those CEO's would have to get an actual job.
You always have great information and great research. I was looking at palm yesterday in a store and wondering if it was worth buying. I didn’t buy it and thank you I will not
The book Frerick Austin”Barons: money power and corruption of the food industry”. (that may not be the exact title) is a wonderfully researched resource of men/companies that do this exact thing
Don't even get me started on those mfn hyppocrites. WATER! The future of power is who controls the water.
Yes, I also thank you for letting us know so we few can at least boycott them Trish Dayan
The big bottled water companies are extractive industries, privatizing and profiting off of our increasingly scarce water resources. They have left a trail of depleted aquifers and diminished lake levels across the Great Lakes states where I live. They run the same playbook: come in quietly and acquire land under some obscure LLC, dump a sh*t-ton of technical information on local citizen planning boards at the last minute, and then count on the project being approved without decisionmakers understanding it, much less having the hydrogeologic expertise to evaluate it.
I am happy to report that one of those companies picked the wrong county - mine. With over 100 named natural lakes and innumerable wetlands and unnamed lakes, water is our county's lifeblood, and that is reflected in our comprehensive plan and zoning regs. They proposed to locate their wells and large bottling plant adjacent to one of the region's stellar wetlands, which happens to be a famous birding hotspot and fish and wildlife area to boot. Oops! They also didn't count on a couple of very seasoned hydrogeologists and ecologists being part of the local citizenry. We just kicked their butts back to whatever depleted aquifer they crawled out off, as they were forced to withdraw their petitions before a hearing could even be held.
Beware of the aforementioned playbook, and keep a hydrogeologist or two on speed dial. And beware also that, outside of a few local boutique brands, bottled "spring water" is nothing of the sort: its all groundwater, pumped from wells, treated, and bottled. If its not called "spring water", then its tap water. Its all a big scam.
We need more hydrologists to examine bogus business plans.
trump used to bottle and sell NYC tap water. NY city has good water, but it's still just tap water.
We had no idea, Jim. Thanks for enlightening us about these bloodsucking. dehumanizing farm barons. We will never purchase another one of their products. Shame on them!
I live near them. I also regularly travel through some of their extensive holdings. THEY STEAL OUR WATER! The are scum.
Wht happens to people when they get rich? Why is there no concept of spreading the wealth and treating others with respect?
That's not part of making a lot of money. "If it's yours it is mine," is the mantra.
Thanks for the reveal. Green washing really burns my bottom 😡
Don't get me started on the plastic bottles.....
Believe they grow much of the tasty little "Halo" oranges that come in that netting. They are getting rich off of farm labor in the Central Valley.
BOYCOTT.
Yes! And GIRLCOTT too!
Thank you for the further information. Halo oranges/mandarins are now on my no-buy list too, along with Fiji Water. We are all hypocrites to some extent, but hypocrites who pretend to be environmentalists while they rip off their workers and the companies and places they source from are deeply despicable.
Many years ago I heard that Fiji water was scarce for Fijians themselves because the Resnick "sucked the water table dry".
Imagine putting water in plastic bottles in Fiji or Tibet or some place and shipping it to the US. Lunacy. And here in Minnesota -once famous for clear cold clean water- many of our springs are now contaminated. we drank from springs when i was a pup- never got sick. Don't try it now.
Grrrrrrr. Never buying that again.
Sounds just like the Trump family dedication to enormous selfish profits at expense of everyone else. ( I just reread mary trump's Too Much and Never Enough)
thanks for letting us know . . . more items not to buy
Are they DINOs? Sounds like a stain on the Democratic Party, unless they are trying to buy favors - which would be business as usual.
And where would they be with the immigrant worker and the working class? No CEO would exist - They PRODUCE nothing!
Maybe yoiu meant to say "without" instead of "with"? The immigrant worker and the working class carry them on their backs. Without them, those CEO's would have to get an actual job.
Thanks Jim for letting know about this - I had no idea - certainly will boycott their products and plan research some of the others also!
Palm=POM
You always have great information and great research. I was looking at palm yesterday in a store and wondering if it was worth buying. I didn’t buy it and thank you I will not
The book Frerick Austin”Barons: money power and corruption of the food industry”. (that may not be the exact title) is a wonderfully researched resource of men/companies that do this exact thing