WASHINGTON – A growing number of religious groups are taking a stand against the bottling of water, stating the practice is immoral because water is a God-given resource that should not be packaged and sold, the Chicago Tribune reported recently in an article analyzing the trend.
Cassandra Carmichael, director of eco-justice programs for the National Council of Churches, said in the story that privatization takes away water from those who cannot afford it and added that water "should be free for all."
In October, the National Coalition of American Nuns, a group representing 1,200 Roman Catholic nuns in the US, adopted a resolution asking members to refrain from purchasing bottled water unless necessary, the report noted.
Meanwhile, Presbyterians for Restoring Creation, a grassroots coalition within the US Presbyterian Church, launched a campaign last spring urging individuals to sign a pledge against drinking bottled water and to take the message to their churches, according to the article.
Stephen Kay, spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association, said bottled water is a minimal user of groundwater compared to the hundreds of other products that draw water, adding that campaigns against bottled water will not lead to long-term solutions in impoverished areas, according to the article.
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