Our Top 10 Victories

Thanks to YOU and our nearly one million supporters, we have grown into your powerful advocate for healthy food and clean water for all. For the past 10 years, we have made important progress and won some incredible victories that show that when we bring people together, we can overcome even the most powerful corporations. Together with allies, activists, grassroots partners and you, we are demanding that our democracy work to improve people’s lives and protect the environment.

To celebrate our first 10 years, I want to share a list of the 10 most important victories you made happen:

1. Banned Fracking in New York

Thanks to Food & Water Watch and our allies in New Yorkers Against Fracking, after years of public education and grassroots organizing with hundreds of local groups and thousands of concerned residents, Governor Cuomo announced a ban on fracking in New York State in 2014. We also just won a campaign with allies in 2015 that achieved a multi-year moratorium on fracking in Maryland.

2. Removed Toxic Arsenic From the Meat People Eat

We helped pass a bill in Maryland to ban the use of arsenic in chicken feed in 2012. The pressure from Food & Water Watch supporters and our allies continued, and we convinced the FDA to end the use of arsenic drugs nationally in 2015.

3. Sparked the National Movement to Ban Fracking

In 2011, Food & Water Watch became the first national organization to call for a ban on fracking. We were a founding member of Americans Against Fracking, which now includes over 400 local, state and national organizations. We also helped form state coalitions in California, Colorado and Pennsylvania, and are organizing to stop fossil fuel infrastructure projects (pipelines, export terminals, etc.) across the country. The grassroots movement has so far passed over 500 measures against fracking.

4. Passed First-Ever GMO Labeling Laws in Connecticut, Maine and Vermont

We campaigned successfully with allies to pass the first laws in the country to require labeling of genetically engineered ingredients, and we have supported ongoing efforts in more than 20 states to require GMO labeling. 

5. Kept Drinking Water Under Public Control

Food & Water Watch has worked with community members to stop attempts by private water companies to privatize local water systems across the country, including in Akron, Ohio; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Trenton, New Jersey; Fort Worth, Texas; and many more.

6. Helped Fight Toxic Drinking Water in Flint, Michigan

Working with local groups facing health impacts from drinking water contaminated with lead, we successfully pressured Michigan Governor Rick Snyder to switch the source of Flint's drinking water from the toxic Flint River back to safe Detroit water.

7. Reduced the Use of Bottled Water

We exposed the environmental, health and equity problems with the bottled water industry sparking a national movement against its use and have worked with concerned residents and community organizations from coast to coast to stop Nestlé from bottling local water supplies. Through our Take Back the Tap campaign at 50 colleges, we are training the next generation of activists to keep our water clean and available for all and eliminating the use of bottled water on college campuses.

8. Kept Your Food Safer

We prevented Big Ag from weakening key meat inspection rules that are critical to keeping our food safe. After years of work, we helped to pass a bill to require country of origin labels on meat and produce to give consumers important information about their food and continue to protect the law in the courts and Congress.

9. Organized to Get the UN to Declare Water a Human Right

Food & Water Watch worked with global allies to pass a United Nations General Assembly resolution in 2010 recognizing the human right to water and sanitation. It was a monumental win for the international water rights movement.

10. Found You!

With nearly one million supporters today, more people are involved in the political process and amplifying their voices to oppose fracking, label GMOs, protect food safety and strong organic standards, and keep water under public control. Together, we are breaking down larger systemic problems into winnable campaigns so that we can build for bigger victories in the future.

Supporters like you made it possible for Food & Water Watch to grow from a staff of 9 people in one office to nearly 100 staff in 17 offices across the country and around the world — all while maintaining independence from corporate and government influence.

We’re Not Done Fighting Yet

Our growing list of victories proves that when you join with us, together we can win the future we want. We hope you’ll consider making a donation to Food & Water Watch, so that we can continue to fund our winning campaigns for clean water and healthy food.