Oregon activists win an 8-year battle to block Nestlé Waters’ plan to bottle water in Cascade Locks

Oregon activists win an 8-year battle to block Nestlé Waters’ plan to bottle water in Cascade Locks, which some said would amount to “privatizing a public resource for corporate profits.” A referendum to ban large water bottling operations in Hood River County won with 68% on the vote. “The plan has faced opposition from the start, despite widespread support among the town's leadership. Measure 14-55 was the latest wave of backlash in a years long battle. Julia DeGraw, an organizer for Food and Water Watch, a national group leading the Nestle opposition in Oregon, called Tuesday's victory ‘proof that voters are smart. When you talk to them about something as crucial as their water, which is necessary for an agricultural economy, right after they have a drought, there is not enough misinformation the opposition can throw at voters to make them buy it.’”