Our Mission
Our food, water and climate are under constant assault by corporations who put profit over the survival of humanity. They have seized control of the very institutions that were built to protect us. We mobilize people to reclaim their political power, hold our elected officials accountable, and resist corporate control—ensuring we all have the essential resources we need to thrive. This is a fight we must win, because this planet is the only one we get.
Our Vision
We are working to create a healthy future for all people and generations to come—a world where everyone has food they can trust, clean drinking water and a livable climate. Making this happen requires involving people in the pressing issues of our time at the local, state, and federal level, building on one win after another, as we develop a larger movement that has the political power to make our democratic process work.
Our Values
Food & Water Watch's values are the underpinning of all of our work.
- Healthy and livable environment
- Human dignity
- Justice for all
- Economic fairness
- Real democracy
Healthy and livable environment – we all deserve to live in a world free of harmful pollution and its impacts on our health and the natural environment.
Human dignity – all people should be treated with respect and have their basic needs met to survive and thrive.
Justice for all – we believe in the systematic fair treatment of people of all races, religions, genders, and sexual orientations, resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all.
Economic fairness – our economic system should be designed to benefit the many, not the few.
Real democracy – in our democracy all people should have easy access to the ballot, corporations are not people, money is not speech.
Our History & Impact
In Fall 2005, 12 members of the Energy and Environment Program at the advocacy organization Public Citizen created Food & Water Watch. Our goal was to help build a powerful grassroots movement that can protect our most important resources. Since then, with the support of our membership, individual donors and foundations, we have grown to more than 100 staff members and have offices around the country.
In the last ten years, with the help of our generous supporters and committed activists, we’ve accomplished the following:
- As the first national organization to call for an all-out ban on fracking, our work was key to building momentum to fight back against the oil and gas industry. We supported the grassroots movement to protect our drinking water and environment from fracking with research and initiated the formation of the national coalition, American Against Fracking.
- With allies, we initiated the formation of leading state based coalitions, fighting fracking and related infrastructure on the front lines in New York, California, Pennsylvania, Colorado, New Jersey, Maryland, Florida and elsewhere.
- Our affiliate Food & Water Europe helped allies there to convince Members of the European Parliament to vote in favor of an immediate moratorium on fracking.
- We worked with the international water justice movement to win a resolution at the United Nations recognizing the human right to water; our affiliate Food & Water Europe successfully campaigned with allies to win support from the European Parliament to consider water as a common good and to implement the human right to water in Europe.
- We helped many communities organize across the country to stop the corporate takeover of their publicly owned water systems
- We defended consumers’ right to know what they’re eating by fighting for mandatory country-of-origin labeling and ensured that technologies like food irradiation continue to be labeled
- We worked with grassroots allies in creating a national movement to label GMO foods.
- We’ve raised awareness nationwide about the environmental, health and equity problems with the bottled water industry.
Learn more about our victories.
Our Staff
In order to work closely with grassroots groups, our organizers are located in offices across the United States, and we have staff in Latin America and the European Union (where we are known as Food & Water Europe.)
We have experience developing winning political strategies, running successful on-the-ground campaigns, and speaking as experts to decision-makers and the media to meet our goals to protect people around the world from threats to our food and water. Read our staff bios.
Our Supporters
Food & Water Watch is supported by its membership, individual donors, and foundations interested in carrying out a progressive agenda for food and water in the United States and abroad. We take no money from corporations or governments. Learn how you can become a supporter.
Guidestar Rating (Now Known As Candid)
We are proud to have earned a Gold Seal of Transparency.
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