Rising Up For Justice: Safeguarding Our Food and Water

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FEATURING JIM WALSH - Our nation and our world is overrun by billionaires and bigots, but they are few and we are many. On this series, exclusive to subscribers of Rising Up With Sonali and viewers of Free Speech TV, we’ll hear from organizers in the movements for social justice, and dig into the nuts and bolts of values, strategies, tactics, narratives, and building power. 

This week, Jim Walsh, Policy Director for Food & Water Watch joins us. In his role, Jim works with Food & Water Watch’s policy experts and national allies to develop and implement campaigns to mobilize the public and educate decision makers on strategies that support the development of a better food system, a safe and livable climate, and support safe and clean public water for all.

ROUGH TRANSCRIPT:

Jim Walsh: Thank you so much for having me. 

Sonali Kolhatkar: So obviously it's in the name and what I just described: “clean food, clean water.” That might be a little vague. How do you explain specifically the work around food and water that your organization does?

Walsh:  At Food and Water Watch, we take on corporate forces that are driving up the cost of living and, and putting our health and food at risk. And this is whether it's big tech draining water supplies for massive data centers, pipeline companies pushing dangerous infrastructure into communities or big oil and LNG exporters, rising energy costs or even agribusinesses consolidating power and driving up food prices. The patterns are really the same. You know, corporate profits continue to be put over the interest of the public and people.

And our goal is simple. We want to protect essential life and build a system where decisions are made by those seeking the public interest and not those in corporate boardrooms.