TFTT Report

The irony is tremendous in Food & Water Watch’s latest publicity stunt. Last week, the lobbying group filed a lawsuit to try to put a road block in front of federal efforts to address the country’s enormous infrastructure challenges. While even Food & Water Watch acknowledges that investment in infrastructure is important, the group can’t tolerate the consideration of an option that might include the private sector.

But here is where the true irony lies: in making its legal case against the creation of a working group to consider infrastructure solutions, Food & Water Watch’s biggest complaint is a lack of transparency. Food & Water Watch even goes as far as to boast that since it “takes no government or corporate donations, we’re free to fight these battles without compromising.”

Let’s have a little refresher here. Between 2011 and 2015, over 75% of Food & Water Watch’s total revenue – more than $53 million – came from undisclosed sources. In fact, the group’s financial documents contain so many anonymous donors that it is impossible to determine who is behind the organization or who is setting its agenda. So much for transparency, eh?

What we do know is that Food & Water Watch offers no viable policy solutions to help communities meet water infrastructure and delivery needs while also criticizing the many solutions offered by private water companies. Instead of spending time on legal maneuvering and hypocritical statements about transparency, the group should focus more time and effort on real, viable policy solutions.