See: http://www.tinagent.no/photographersdirectors/knut-bry/water-for-everyone

Knut Bry is a widely acclaimed photographer who hails from Norway. His photography is simple, non-abstract, yet deeply profound. In my mind, this is why he elicits strong emotional responses to his photographs. Last year, he began posting pictures of water. However, with hashtags that read “boycott Nestlé” and “water is for everyone”.

When I asked Mr. Bry the reason behind his hashtags, he told me “Several years ago, Nestlé diverted a river and cut off the only water source for two towns and a large Native reserve in British Columbia. The company declared that the water was a universal commodity for the taking, not a natural resource guaranteed for Canadians. They had armed guards at the gate from the U.S. and a large number of the locals were badly affected resultantly.”

Water is a limited resource, and a necessity for every life form on earth. However, problems begin to arise when large Multi National Companies -bolstered by strong lobbies- such as Nestle begin to exploit these resources. In turn, they cause damage not only to the environment but also to the people of the areas. Often, these people belong to the weaker sections of society. Institutional forces are arrayed against them, making them voiceless in the face of companies like nestle.

Despite the severe droughts in southern Ontario, Nestlé continues to extract four million liters of groundwater every day from an aquifer near Guelph. In fact, Nestlé pays approximately $15 per day for this precious resource. It only pays a mere $2.25 for every 1 million liters of water it takes. They then ship this water out, using plastic bottles and sell it all over the Americas- at a high profit. (Ferreras)

Knut Bry is not alone in believing that water is a human right, and that the turning of water into a commodity for the profit of the highest bidder- a travesty. Privatization of access to water is a slippery slope that has cost many countries- especially developing nations- dearly by selling the right to water to multinational corporations, who in turn are only interested in profit from sales to the highest bidder. Poor local residents are given last access after the profit is taken.

#boycottnestlé #waterisforeverone