Bottle Life: the documentary that reveals Nestlé's water business

As is happening in Pakistan, where the wells dug by the Swiss multinational Nestlé are depriving the population of drinking water, which then sells the first "purified" water, that is tap water treated with the addition of minerals, marketed in the Asian country. The harsh denunciation comes from “Bottled Life”, a documentary film soon to be shown in Swiss cinemas, made by director Urs Schnell and journalist Res Gehriger.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

THEwater, fundamental resource of the planet, is rapidly disappearing. Its global scarcity looms as the greatest threat of ecological, economic and political crisis. Blue gold, an essential asset for human life, is under threat. Especially because is tempting to multinationals and his business is of immense value. For this reason, the most powerful companies on the planet are scrambling to transform this resource into a marketable asset. Even if this means unregulated and wild extraction from the strata.

As is happening in Pakistan, where the wells dug by the Swiss multinational Nestlé are depriving the population ofdrinking water, which then sells the first one at a high price "purified" water, namely tap water treated with the addition of minerals, marketed in the Asian country. The harsh complaint comes from "Bottled Life”, A documentary film soon to be released in Swiss cinemas, made by director Urs Schnell and journalist Res Gehriger.

“How does water turn into a billion dollar business? The answer lies in the hands of the Swiss company Nestlé, ”explains the trailer. Thus, a reporter from Zurich begins to investigate the most powerful corporation in his country and this journey takes him straight from Switzerland straight to Pakistan, where he gets involved in a tough fight between citizens, small helpless ants trying to protect their local sources. , and an international giant.

Analyzing the success of the Nestlè brand "Pure Life", the most important in the world, "a jewel in our portfolio", according to John Harris, head of Nestlé Waters, the documentary delves into the maze of a ignoble and unregulated trade, unmasking i traffics of one of the most unscrupulous water hoarders, along with Danone and Coca-cola.

Maude Barlow, former UN consultant responsible for the water issue, explains that "when a company like Nestlé appears out of nowhere and says, Pure Life is the answer, we are selling you the water from your own land, while the taps are not not even a drop comes out, or if there is it is undrinkable - which is even more irresponsible - we can only define this practically as a criminal act “.

But what is Nestlé replying to these accusations? He writes, in black and white, in a communiqué addressed to the newspaper Tages Anzeiger his social commitment: "we have built two filtering plants that offer drinking water to over 10.000 people in Sheikhupura, Pakistan with drinking water and we plan to build them another for 2012 ". But, in reality, in the meantime, she has always refused to give interviews and to have the plants visited, as explained by Schnell and Gehriger.

Still, the portrait of the company that comes out of the documentary is in stark contrast with the values heralded by the company. So, stubborn and undaunted, Gehriger visits a refugee camp in Ethiopia where, in 2003, Nestlé had installed a water treatment plant. He discovered that, just two years after it started, it never worked properly again. And the scarcity of water is making itself felt again. But it will surely be an unfortunate coincidence ...

The fact is that according to a study by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, today in Pakistan, 44% of the population still does not have access to safe drinking water. Percentage that rises to 76.5% in the population of rural areas. Every year, the study continues, more than die in Pakistan 200.000 children due to dysentery and access to their own groundwater is the only possibility for people to have safe water. In short, water is life, not a good from which to draw indiscriminate profit, in the name of which Nestlé is contributing to the depletion of water resources, drying up the local water sources and wells used up to now for domestic use and agricultural. Furthermore, thecurrent water extraction conducted by Nestlé is not sustainable: the multinational takes blue gold much faster than it can naturally be renewed, putting the right to water of future generations at serious risk.

Here you will find the link to the video-trailer

For your knowledge, here are the products marketed by Nestlé:

mineral waters: Vera, Saint Bernard, Saint Pellegrino, Perrier, Sant'Antonio;

coffee and cocoa: Nescafé, Orzoro; chocolate: Perugina, Nestlè; cured meats: Vismara, King's;

oil: stone;

dolci: Smarties, Kit Kat, Galak, Lion, After Eight, Quality Street, Toffee, Polo, Motta, Alemagna;

preserves: Berni;

cheeses: Locatelli;

pasta: Buitoni, Pezzullo;

laughter: Curtiris;

broth preparations: Maggi;

frozen foods: Frozen, Mare Fresco, La Valle degli orti;