Water is essential to the human body and having access to good, clean water, should be a right of every person on this planet. While that is my opinion, the former CEO of Nestle, Peter Brabeck, has a very different opinion and one that might shock you.

Brabeck stated rather clearly in an interview for a documentary called “We Feed The World,” that he believes water should not be a public right and that it should be something only the wealthy have access to. A rather interesting statement from the CEO of the 27th largest company in the world, who does over $65 billion in business with a good portion of that coming from bottled water sales.

In 2007, Brabeck received a “Black Planet Award” which is an award given to people who contribute to the destruction of the planet. Brabeck, through Nestlé, was accused of proliferating contaminated baby food, monopolizing water resources, and tolerating child labor.

In the interview, Brabeck didn’t stop with water. He continued on talking about GMO’s, nature and corporate responsibility. Feel free to reflect on the statements he makes, and share your thoughts in the comments. Is this the type of world view you want to see in powerful individuals?

Organic Food

A good example is the organic movement. Organic is now best. But organic is not best. After 15 years of eating GM food products in the USA, not one single case of illness from eating them has occurred to date. And in spite of this we’re all so uneasy about it in Europe that something might happen to us.

Brabeck is not being honest about the dangers of GMOs which have been made clear. Studies have found that GMOs can cause cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, digestive problems and other serious health issues.

Balance Between Man and Nature

Today people believe that everything that comes from nature is good. That represents a huge change because until recently we always learned that nature could be pitiless. Man is now in the position to provide some balance to nature. But in spite of this we have something approaching a shibboleth that everything that comes from nature is good.

To have balance is to have harmony. Much of what man currently does with nature is not harmonious with it, ourselves or animal life. To think that balance is being related to how we have destroyed nature is an odd way of looking at the situation.

Water as a Public Right

Water is of course the most important raw material we have today in the world. It’s a question of whether we should privatize the normal water supply for the population, and there are two different opinions on the matter. The one opinion, which I think is extreme, is represented by the NGOs, who bang on about declaring water a public right. That means as a human being you should have a right to water. That’s an extreme solution. And the other view says water is a foodstuff like any other and like any other foodstuff it should have a market. Personally I think it’s better to give foodstuff a market value . . .

Privatization of any good or service has never led to equal opportunity for people nor a successful system. In the end, to privatize means to make powerful people more wealthy and have more control. Contrary to popular belief passed down by individuals like Brabeck, humanity does not need to be controlled and governed to the degree we are. Our nature is to share, assist and love. The only reason this doesn’t seem to be the case is because fear and scarcity is purposely created and promoted by the elite.

On Corporate Responsibility

I’m still of the opinion that the biggest social responsibility of any CEO is to maintain and ensure the successful and profitable future of his enterprise.

A social responsibility is one that affects the people and promotes harmony amongst them. If profits are the main goal of a CEO, as it relates to social responsibility, then we can clearly see where priorities lie. It is not in offering a good, safe, and useful product, but instead it is in making money.

Brabeck’s Not Alone in His Elitist Views

The sad thing is, Brabeck is not alone in his views as many CEOs, elitists, private bankers and so forth share the same values and world views. This can be seen by taking a step back and looking at the big picture of how our world functions. While it appears money is their motive, it goes deeper. Power and control is of the utmost importance to them as with power, they can control everything.

What can we do about it? We can share this information with others and make smarter choices about what we purchase. We fuel this system with our actions and choices. Awareness of these stories and issues is one of the first steps in creating change. Here’s a list of Nestles brands that you may consider boycotting. Brands: Arrowhead, Aqua Spring, Calistoga, Deer Park, Deep Spring, Ice Mountain, Glaciar, Klosterquelle, Nestle Wellness, Nestle Pure Life, Ozarka, Poland Spring, Perrier, S. Pellegrino, S. Barnardo, Water Line, Zephyrhills.

Sources:

The interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGj4GpAbTM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Brabeck-Letmathe

Joe Martino