Famous Last Words,
May 2024
A fool proof guide to the perfect roast chicken.
Humans love habit and certainty; research has long confirmed this. New things are exhausting, and the chatter about "stepping out of your comfort zone" is, for many, just that: uncomfortable. Why bother? Only if there's something to gain. In good economic terms, only if the investment yields a return.
Today's menu: roast chicken, bread sauce. And with that, we toast with champagne on our fictional journey on the Titanic. Bon appétit!
We would have liked to order a glass of Perrier or Vittel, but we are cautious. Why? Nestlé has been selling filtered mineral water from apparently contaminated sources for years.
But because many in France profit from this luxury water, the scandal remained under wraps for a long time.
French authorities have known since December 2020 about the problems with mineral water bottlers in the country, yet it wasn't until January this year that the public learned through the media about the use of UV radiation and activated carbon filters in so-called "natural" mineral water.
Just weeks ago, a report from the national food safety institute surfaced—again, through Le Monde and Radio France, not the Health Ministry—about the concentration of fecal coliform bacteria and "forever chemicals," like those used in the textile industry or in the coating of pans.
The health quality of the final product cannot be guaranteed, the report on Nestlé's mineral water allegedly states.
But how do coliform bacteria, pesticides, and other chemicals even make their way into the mineral water sources?
The primary culprit is agriculture. Nestlé has purchased more than 6,000 hectares of land around the water sources and leased it to farmers for organic farming.
The manure from cows and sheep pollutes the groundwater. Another chapter out of "wealth before health."
In a world where multinational corporations like Nestlé put profits before people's health, we must ask ourselves: why do we let them get away with it?
Nestlé’s actions show a blatant disregard for public health, exploiting natural resources and contaminating the very water we drink, all for the sake of maintaining their bottom line.
The French authorities’ delayed response and the fact that critical information only reached the public through investigative journalism, not official channels, highlight a disturbing lack of accountability and transparency.
This isn’t just about dirty water; it’s about a dirty system. When will we demand better? When will the health of the public come before corporate profits? It's time for a reckoning.
Credits: NZZ, Le Monde, Radio France.