As I was doing my quick scan of what silly items that had
been posted on my Facebook page - I noted one asking me to boycott Nestlé. I
almost ignored the "news item" on the assumption that it was a continuation
of the long standing protest objecting to Nestlé's offensive insistence that its
baby formula is better than mother's milk. However, it was not about that. It
was about the fact that Nestlé had negotiated a deal to buy millions of litres
of water from the B.C. government for $2.25 for every million litres (sumofus).
The request on Facebook was to follow the link to sign a petition.
I need to believe that except for either the most hard core
conservative or for the most rabid fans of Ayn Rand that Canadians understand
that selling public water for a minuscule fraction of what its market value is
- is absurd. In fact the selling off of our water to anyone for any cost is
absurd. It clearly makes no sense to allow a corporation to take water out of
the ground so that they can make a huge profit on it. The only question should be how to stop it.
Companies such Nestlé have withstood boycotting for decades.
I doubt if their bottom line has been significantly affected in any measurable
way. It certainly has not radically changed its operational stance or long term
business plan. It is hard to think of a
single company that has changed how it does business solely because a
relatively small handful of individuals have said they won't buy a specific
product. Boycotting is a way of making folks who have a choice as to what to
buy or use feel like they are doing something. People can now buy a bottle of
water for the same price from some other company and say - "I am doing
something for the environment". Bull crap!!!! Similarly signing an on-line
petition will have little or no affect upon any Canadian government, all of
whom have shown no interest in listening to the public. Signing an on-line petition will have exactly the same effect as me writing to Stephen Harper... it makes me feel good for a few hours.
Buying bottled for most people, for most of the time is
wrong. In Canada we are blessed in most communities (unless you live in a Native
community) with drinkable water. Use it.
Boycotting is a process by which we
expect to manipulate corporations to act in an ethical fashion in spite of the
fact that we as individuals frequently do not. Why are we surprised when large
(and small) corporations look for ways of making money? Do people really expect
companies to make ethical decisions that will cost them money? If there is a
market for products or services (even if those same companies have created that
market) why are we surprised that some multinational rushes in to fill that
void? How can we have any of those expectations when we, as private citizens,
do not demonstrate at least a hint of ethical behaviour? There is only one way
to stop the extraordinary depletion of good, clean water sold in plastic
bottles. Stop buying it. Not just from Nestlé but from every company. We should
not expect them to change their ways unless we are prepared to do it as well. And
do it first!
People seem to spend
a lot of energy moaning about how terrible the multinationals are. But we continue
to use their products. Whether it is people driving their near empty mid-sized
SUVs (see they say - "I am not driving a full size SUV") while complaining
about the horrendous scar upon landscape that is Fort Mac, or people who use
all kinds of paper products and live in houses constructed of wood (including
exotic woods from soon-to-be denuded tropical forests) complaining both about
the cost of lumber and about clear cutting or those who moan about the lack of
decent jobs while shopping at the Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store, we expect
someone else to make the difficult decisions.
It is time we stepped up to the plate and took
responsibility for our own actions. We need to stop blaming companies for the
choices that we make.
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