NESTLE EXTRACTING 3.

6 MILLION LITRES OF WATER EVERYDAY ,

LEAVING THE RESIDENTS OF FIRST NATION ( indigenous people )
DEPRIVED OF THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENT. (it’s just pointers)

What is the issue?

- Nestle extracting million litres of water everyday from the Grand River indigenous reserve in
Ontario
- Nestlé pumps springwater from the nearby Erin well, which sits on a tract of land given to
the Six Nations under the 1701 Nanfan Treaty and the 1784 Haldimand Tract ( info obtained
from Lonny Bomberry, Six Nations lands and resources director.)
- Nestlé pays the province of Ontario $503.71 (US$390.38) per million litres. But they pay the
Six Nations nothing.

Why are they doing this?

- Nestlé was founded in the 19th century on the idea that spring water might have incredible
health benefits. So they do not opt for tap water treatment and only rely on extracting
ground water from the reserves.
- Many of Nestlé’s competitors, such as Aquafina and Dasani, don’t use spring water, but filter
and treat tap water
- the Ontario government has also given companies the right to pump water on expired
permits until 2019. (The permit for the Erin site expired in 2017.) This legal ambiguity has
allowed Nestlé to move in and extract precious water on expired permits for next to nothing

How is it affecting the place & the people?

- People have to drive 8km to a public tap to fill up. The water isn’t drinkable, however, so
once a week they also drive 10km to the nearest town, Caledonia, to buy bottled water to
drink.
- Thomas, a university student and mother of five, has lived without running tap water since
the age of 16. Her children lack access to basic amenities like toilets, showers and baths. For
washing and toilet usage, they use a bucket.
- Because of lack of water through the reserves, she had to depend on the rain water
harvesting system through the rooftop gutters. After a while her six year old son Theron had
developed skin rashes, when diagnosed, it was told by the doctors that a bacteria named
impetigo is the reason, caused by the roof’s shingles.
- But Nestle is not the ONLY reason for this water crisis. This has been in existence from a very
long time.
- The drought has dried the wetlands surrounding Greene’s 10-acre property. It has also
decimated the local populations of salmon, trout, pike and pickerel ( caused by both nestle &
other brands)
Other reasons for this water crisis?
- beverage brands such as Aquafina and Dasani, which pump and bottle the abundant
freshwater. But the distribution is rarely according to need
- Ninety-one percent of the homes in this community aren’t connected to the water
treatment plant ( info by Michael Montour, director of public works for Six Nations. )
- Some have no water at all. Others have water in their taps, but it is too polluted to drink.
- The Six Nations are not the only First Nations community in Canada with a water crisis. There
are currently 50 indigenous communities with long-term boil water advisories, which means
an estimated 63,000 people haven’t had drinkable water for at least a year – and some for
decades.
- since some indigenous communities, such as Six Nations, have a functional water plant but
no workable plumbing. The lack of water has been linked to health issues in indigenous
communities including hepatitis A, gastroenteritis, giardia lamblia (“beaver fever”), scabies,
ringworm and acne.

Legalities
- The Six Nations – Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca and Tuscarora – sided with
the British during the American revolution; as a reward they were given an area of
approximately 3,845 sq km around the Grand River. Later, Ontario broke the treaty,
reducing it to the current 194 sq km.
- No one disputes the existence or legality of the Haldiman or Nanfan treaties. Only now, their
legality is finally being taken seriously, thanks to a shift in the national political climate
toward greater recognition of indigenous rights, including several wins in the supreme and
lower courts.

What are the people saying about this issue?

- “Six Nations did not approve [of Nestlé pumping],” Martin-Hill said. “They told Nestlé that
they wanted them to stop. Of course, they are still pumping as we speak.”
- “Nestlé are taking out water for free, so why don’t they dispense it to people?” Sault said.
“It’s the indigenous resources they are taking. It’s unreal what [Nestlé] are doing. It’s unreal
the way they operate.”
- “It’s hard to boycott Nestlé because they own so many companies that sell so many
products,” she said. “It’s hard to pick and choose. You don’t always know what’s Nestlé and
what’s not because they own so much.”
- “The fact that Nestlé is commercializing these natural resources in a community that doesn’t
have access to reliable safe, affordable drinking water is a stunning example of the
disparities we see around the world in access to safe water,” Gleick said. Why did he say
this? Because….
- The former CEO of Nestlé, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, caused an international furor when he
praised the commodification of water in a 2005 documentary, saying: “One perspective held
 by various NGOs – which I would call extreme – is that water should be declared a human
right … The other view is that water is a grocery product. And just as every other product, it
should have a market value.”

Nestle’s response & facts

- Since 1997, Nestlé has almost doubled its food production volume. Over the same period
increased efficiency meant its water consumption decreased by 29%
- The amount of water used in 2006 by Nestlé Waters amounted to 40 billion litres, which is
an estimated 0.0009% of the total freshwater withdrawal globally
- Secondly Nestlé makes extraordinary efforts to clean waste water before it is returned to
nature in an environmentally acceptable form
- “We are working hard on developing our relationships with local First Nations communities,
and look forward to working together,” Jennifer Kerr, director of corporate affairs for Nestlé
Waters Canada, wrote in an email to the Guardian.
- Even as early as 1929, Nestlé began to invest – beyond the then-current municipal
infrastructure – in its own waste water treatment plant at factory level. Each year, our aim
remains to improve water efficiency continuously and to reduce waste. As new technologies
become available, we can increase our efficiencies and drive down, for example,
environmental parameters such as greenhouse gas emissions or packaging waste
- . We have demonstrated continuous improvement over the past four years since our last
water report

Policies & Strategies that can be implemented

- As one of the first steps, Nestlé agronomists will evaluate the state of water usage in
Nestlé’s direct supply chain
- Include advanced water practices as far as applicable in the Nestlé Farm Assurance Manuals
implemented in the different markets.
- Nestlé’s global operations will continue to seek improvements in water consumption,
reducing water usage, and reducing even further our water footprint.
- 71 drinking water facilities have been completed in India, reaching around 25 000 school
children already
- In 1999, around its factory in the state of Punjab, Nestlé India initiated a project to provide
clean drinking water facilities in village schools, create awareness in the community about
water issues and involve them in improving the water situation.
- In June 2005, Nestlé India’s factory in Punjab was awarded the Punjab Government’s Award
for Environmental Excellence in recognition of its efforts, amongst others, in the
construction of these clean drinking water facilities.

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