It is a mystery as to how bottled water industry has got such a stranglehold on the citizens in many wealthy countries where piped water supply is considered safe for potable purpose. The reported effort in Italy to even give easily recognizable brand name to the public water supply reflects the ground reality that bottled water industry has hooked millions of people to its products through mind boggling investments in hard sell promotional programs. What many in the West feel about this tragic societal distortion is borne out by a commentary published on the recently "celebrated" World Water Day.
"The bottled water industry is taking a page from the playbook of big tobacco in promotion of its product," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. "As activists around the world today observe World Water Day, it is especially important to draw attention to these misleading tactics that are distracting consumers from the most responsible water source there is: the tap." Recent advertising campaigns by bottled water companies such as Nestle, Coca-Cola, and PepsiCo have cited their respective contributions to water-related charities as evidence of their commitment to sustainability, yet the bottled water industry has financial incentive to sell as much water as possible. Some 8.7 billion gallons of bottled water were sold in the U.S. in 2008, but their production used an estimated 26 billion gallons of water.
What catastrophe a country can face is amply demonstrated by the trials and tribulations of a whole community in Kerala which openly canvassed for setting up a bottling plant in their area and what devastation visited on them years later by their short sighted initial enthusiasm. It is another matter that the multinational bottling company is being sued for more than Rs 2 billion for the damages to the community by their over exploitation of water resources in the area.
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