water privatization

[rf...@sonic.net]

In the February 2026 issue of The Nation there is a Q&A with the directors (Rowan Wersham and Yasha Levine) of the documentary titled Pistachio Wars, which focuses on "...the billionaire couple Stewart and Lynda Resnick.  The Resnicks, the biggest farmers in the United States, founded the Wonderful Company, purveyor of airport staples like Wonderful Pistachios, FIJI Water, and that pomegranate juice in bottles shaped like fertility goddesses...

"...It's ultimately an expose of their nefarious business practices...

"...we spoke to them about their experience [making the documentary] and the environmental, public health, and geopolitical perils of privatizing a critical natural resource like water....".

The first question posed to the directors: "Only 20 percent of the water used by Californians goes to the residential population; the rest is allocated to agriculture.  How does the majority of an ostensibly public resource end up in industry hands?"