"You're Drinking the Blood of my People"

An abbreviated version of a story told by Dr. Vandana Shiva author of Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution and Profit

In Kerala, India, Coca-Cola was extracting millions of gallons of groundwater.  Water levels fell at rates of up to 500 feet below the surface of the earth.  Locals suffered from horrible man-made water shortages. Traditional drinking-water sources, ponds, water tanks, waterways and canals were polluted with the sludge that is left as a result of soft-drink manufacturing.  At this particular plant locals said that Coca-Cola was extracting up to 1.5 million liters per day.  The soil became arid and depleted, affecting crops, dehydrating humans and their livestock.   The Coca-Cola company was draining the community of it's vitality.  

As the local communities realized what was happening they took action. People rallied and protested at the headquarters.  Some reached out to local government agencies and sought to get the actions of Coca-Cola exposed to the world. The community knew that they needed help.  

Dr. Shiva was asked to join the community and stand with them in solidarity.  She explains the sight as this:  there were groups of women protesting in front of the plant and hundreds of police with their weapons.   Unnecessary precautions speak volumes to these gravity of these situations.  It was a scene that exposed the reality of the evils that are occurring as a result of corporate driven greed.  Dr. Shiva asked what message the community wanted to send to the world.  The female leader of the group replied with this: 

"When you drink coca-cola, you drink the blood of my people." 

After many efforts and tragic endings resulting from the operations, the local government performed an investigation. The company failed to comply with the request for details and the license was cancelled. Coca-Cola even attempted to bribe the assembly president A. Krishnan, with 300 million rupees, unsuccessfully.  Coca-Cola was kicked out of Kerala.  Now investigations are taking place around the country as governments that aren't so easily corrupted anymore, choose to stand for their people. Coca-Cola is moving out of Varanasi and other localities by force.

THIS is not an isolated event. Here the water was being extracted for soda, but it happens every day for manufacturing processes that require water. 

A woman from rural South India who is effected by water extraction. 

I spend most of my time at yoga and fitness studios and I find it very ironic when I see people drinking from one-time use plastic water bottles.  They are caring for themselves and yet very unaware of how their beverage is causing harm to others and our planet.  

Part of my mission is to educate people (in a loving way) about their impact on the world both at home and globally, as well as give them an opportunity to be the change. I am not smarter or kinder than anyone with a plastic water bottle.  It is just that I have sought out to witness first-hand the destruction that water privitization causes.  I would like to offer some of the information that I have found to you. 

I once drank bottled water.  I thought I was making the healthy option at the very strategically placed soda vending machines around campus.  It eventually stopped when I took the time to consider the impact of my bottles and heard of the water privitization that was occurring in Africa from Nestle waters.  I thought if I recycled it was enough. Turns out it's not. Even recycling doesn't get rid of the plastic waste that takes forever to break down on our planet fast enough to balance out this practice. 

Nestle, Coca-Cola & Pepsi-Co are just as bas as Monsanto if not worse.  At the 2005 World Economic Forum, Nestlé' received 29% of the vote as the 'world's least responsible company' - twice as many votes as the next on the list (Monsanto).  Nestle believes that water is not a right and that it should be sold.  Nestle claims that water as a fundamental right to all, is an extreme idea. 

Every day millions of gallons of water are extracted out of the ground domestically and abroad.  That water ends up at your gyms, schools and grocery stores for profit.  Bottled water costs on average $346 per year, per person; tap water: 48 cents per year, per person (Consumer Reports).   Where is all this money going and when is enough profit enough?

As a yogi, I believe that the convenience of a plastic water bottle could partially defeat the point of our practice.  In this practice we take the time to consider, very thoughtfully, the impact of our words, thoughts and actions.  Together, we should educate people on the true cost of bottled.  We have a duty as global citizens, to protect our resources and eachother.

At the head of the Ganges the water is clean and plentiful. By the time it reaches the Sea it is depleted and polluted. Check this article out from TIME Magaine.  

What can you do to make a difference in your community at home and abroad? 

1. Purchase a reusable water bottle and fill it. If you are worried about the quality of your water buy a filter (if you want to get rid of fluoride puchase a Berkey).  It takes time and effort but our planet and people are depending on your contributions. 
2. Find out where water is being extracted cheaply in your community and sold -with an exorbitant profit margin- back to you.  This doesn't just happen in third world nations, it is occurring in the USA in communities near you. The closest to me that is having a large negative impact is the Poland Springs facility in Fryeburg, Maine. You can see the legal battle the town is in with Nestle here.
3. Conserve your water. Do you really need to take a long hot shower? The days of over-consumption and excess seem to be coming to and end. We can see companies such as REI closing for Black Friday. Individuals are actively choosing to step away from the materialism and consumerism that big businesses are pushing on us. Less is more. 
4. Look at labels, these companies have many branches. These brands do more than just sell water as a commodity. When you purchase something from them, you are supporting these practices by default. 

Please consider your purchasing practices more closely. Ask, where does my dollar, my energy end up? I would like to dedicate this post to Professor Vernon Domingo who helped direct my endless curiosity into a purposeful mission. 






Want to learn more? Check out several documented cases of companies performing similar operations: 

• Nestle Waters in California during the worst recorded drought in history.
• Nestle Pure Life Water in Pakistan, a protype to take over the world's water.
• Nestle Pure Life in BC Canada, extracting during drought. Extracting for free and selling back to Canadians.
• Coca-Cola and Pepsi in India committing hydro-piracy.
• Water Privitization Conflicts around the world: India, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Nigeria, Mexico, Malaysia, Australia, and the Philippines. They’ve now spread to Canada, England, Turkey, Colombia, Guatemala, Morocco, New Zealand, South Africa, El Salvador, and even China.
• Video: Nestle taking water from California during the drought. 
• Video: Dr. Shiva speaking about Water Wars  

‘Nestlé is the global leader in the exploitation of water across the globe. It has 67 bottling factories and sells in more than 130 countries. In Pakistan, Nestlé invented a “blue-print factory” that could be used to create new factories anywhere in the world. Pakistan was chosen as the model because it is the only country in the region that has an unregulated groundwater sector, meaning that anyone can simply dig a hole and extract as much water as they want for free.  'Pure Life' brand water has been produced in Pakistan, Asia, Africa and South America and is marketed as “capturing nature in its purest form”. In short, Nestlé now owns and distributes “nature” on every continent.’

 (New Internationalist)