Against the Grain

Commodifying Water

Over the last forty years, bottled water consumption has exploded. Once a rarefied item, global sales of bottled water dwarf every other beverage — totaling $300 billion a year. Environmental sociologist Daniel Jaffee argues that packaged water doesn’t only imperil our oceans and bodies with plastic waste, but undermines safe public water even more than water privatization.

Resources:

Daniel Jaffee, Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice UC Press, 2023