Mayor Kevin Johnson spoke favorably about the Nestlé company’s planned water-bottling plant and addressed other local issues at his weekly meeting with reporters on Tuesday. Nestlé water bottling plant Johnson praised Nestlé’s plan to set up a plant to bottle and sell water from the American River, saying the plant will create jobs.   “I knew that this would bring about 40 to 60 jobs in our community and that’s a good thing,” he said. Johnson also said he wished he could have been more invo... KathleenHaley afulle comment-15165 2009-10-09T13:56:32Z 2009-10-09T13:56:32Z Nestle Waters North America (NWNA) is a subsidiary of the Swiss food and beverage giant Nestle. In the US, NWNA sells brands of bottled water such as Arrowhead, Calistoga, Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Pure Life, Poland Spring, Ozarka, Perrier, San Pelligrino and others. There's a group working with communities all across the country who are trying to resist Nestle's efforts to bottle and export their water. Here's a link to stories about Nestle across the country: http://stopcorporateabuse.org/communities-think-outside-bottle afulle 2009-10-09T13:56:32Z Rhonda Erwin comment-15163 2009-10-09T09:12:28Z 2009-10-09T09:12:28Z I disagree with him and well, I'll leave it at that Rhonda Erwin 2009-10-09T09:12:28Z LARRY MEADE comment-15154 2009-10-09T05:30:46Z 2009-10-09T05:30:46Z Bottled water is one of the worst things for the environment. Nestle is also a company that has a long history of significant ethical issues - from encouraging mothers in developing countries to give their babies formula over their own breast milk (and telling them that it was better for their babies) to extracting water against the will of people in Brazil to labor rights violations in the Philippines to recently buying milk from the farm owned by the wife of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, one of the worst dictators in Africa. Is this really the kind of company that Kevin Johnson feels is a good fit for Sacramento? It's disturbing that Kevin Johnson thinks this is a good idea. It's even more disturbing that Kevin Johnson that wants more power so (in his own words) he could have been more involved in bringing this plant to Sacramento. LARRY MEADE 2009-10-09T05:30:46Z Steven Maviglio comment-15148 2009-10-09T04:57:03Z 2009-10-09T04:57:03Z It is simply amazing that your personal attacks on the mayor continue on this website. Disagree with him. Fine. But leave it at that. Steven Maviglio 2009-10-09T04:57:03Z bbbbmer comment-15127 2009-10-08T22:36:20Z 2009-10-08T22:36:20Z Surely we can generate 40 to 60 jobs under less harmful and more sustainable conditions... For Sacramentans concerned about this issue, the documentary "FLOW: FOR THE LOVE OF WATER" details the backroom political corruption and practical insidiousness of water repackagers like Coke, Pepsico, and ... you got it, Nestle, which is the subject of an AG investigation and intervention regarding a water dispute with the city of McCloud, near Redding. Nestle's tactics are covert, and they no doubt have been carrying on very quiet, behind the scenes negotiations with City staff here in Sacramento, including with this mayor, who once again proclaims a benefit where the prospects are dim, especially with regard to a paltry number of jobs that never seem to materialize elsewhere Nestle has operated, and has incurred the wrath of citizens affected by their overuse of municipal water systems and natural aquifers, harming both environment and community in their wake. Please reference this morning's SNR Editorial here, http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1295558, and the group ''Save Our Waters Sacramento" here... www.saveourwatersacramento.org .... Hopefully Nestle will take the hint and leave... and take KJ with them... bbbbmer 2009-10-08T22:36:20Z Bill Albertson comment-15121 2009-10-08T20:07:46Z 2009-10-08T20:07:46Z So... if water is that plentiful here, that we can go bottling it and selling it, then there should be no issues with me watering the lawn, flushing the toilet every time, and taking really long showers- because we have no water SHORTAGE, right? Right? All anyone needs to do is take a look at our surrounding reservoirs to know that bottling up our potable water and shipping it away in massive quantities for private gain is a bad idea. Because it is not just the water IN the bottle, it is the water that is taken to make the bottle, which is something like 50 times over what the bottle actually will end up holding. Bill Albertson 2009-10-08T20:07:46Z William Burg comment-15091 2009-10-08T16:12:50Z 2009-10-08T16:12:50Z Nestle's involvement reminds me of the old MDC song "Radioactive Chocolate": http://www.mp3lyrics.org/m/mdc/radioactive/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHHTaHv4JYo Inspired by the fact that the grazing fields of dairies near Hershey, PA, where Hershey's gets milk for their milk chocolate, was downwind from 3 Mile Island, resulting in milk that showed elevated levels of radioactive iodine and cesium isotopes. http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=9856 William Burg 2009-10-08T16:12:50Z Dale Kooyman comment-15072 2009-10-07T21:56:15Z 2009-10-07T21:56:15Z The controversy around Nestle's water is not confined to Sacramento. Try Denver Post where opposition is great there too. I've read that they have bought water rights in Switzerland. Question is why the rights? Is Nestle just holding them until water becomes scarce enough that they will profit greatly? Internet article also reads that they are investing in building a cereal plant in Switzerland. I thought it was an American Corporation and Western Europe has tight regulations on big businesses. They are owned by Genera Mills, which is apparently a multi-national corporation, so maybe that is where the decisions are made. Anyone know?. Dale Kooyman 2009-10-07T21:56:15Z Paul Cox comment-15068 2009-10-07T21:21:53Z 2009-10-07T21:21:53Z Why am I not surprised that he supports a project that the majority of Sacramentans don't like... Paul Cox 2009-10-07T21:21:53Z William Burg comment-15060 2009-10-07T18:27:13Z 2009-10-07T18:27:13Z By "other transportation methods" I assume they were talking about the streetcar--the South Lake Union streetcar, to be specific. William Burg 2009-10-07T18:27:13Z