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He characterized Waters's stance as typical of well-intentioned but ill-informed anti-
bottled-water activists. “In America we get a little bit of information and we want to
save the world, but we don't attack the root problems,” said Jeffery. “We should not try
to adjudicate who's got a license to operate their business. We should focus on using less
resources in general. That would make a lot more difference than boycotting bottled wa-
ter.”
Alice Waters has inspired other restaurateurs, such as Mario Batali and the Basti-
anich family, whose restaurants, such as Del Posto and Babbo, serve tap water in New
York. But not everyone is convinced. Drew Nieporent , whose Myriad Restaurant Group
operates Nobu, Tribeca Grill, Corton, and many other restaurants in New York, Miami,
Las Vegas, and California, said, “The politics are taking over. Whether it's serving foie
gras, or veal, or bottled water, there's all this shouting. As a restaurateur, what am I going
to do—notsell wine because it has sulfates in it? That's crazy! The fact of the matter is,
the public wants wine from France, and it wants bottled water. And guess what? We're
making money on it. Personally, I like the convenience. At home in New Jersey we have
terrible municipal water. So we have a big dispenser of Poland Spring—even the dog
drinks it. I think the anti-bottled-water stuff will blow over.”
Indeed, many restaurateurs rely on the bottled water markup to help cover their rent.
Clark Wolf , a Manhattan restaurant consultant, walked me through the math. If a res-
taurant can buy water for, say, $.98 a bottle wholesale and retail it for $6 to $8 a bottle
(prices shift constantly)—or more, such as the $90 a bottle Bling can charge for its wa-
ter in Las Vegas—the appeal is obvious. “I'd estimate that the restaurant industry takes
in about $200 to $350 million a year from bottled water,” Wolf said in. “That's a lot of
money. So I'm not surprised that all chefs are not jumping on Alice Waters's bandwag-
on.”
But the anti-bottled-water campaign has gained. In 2007, Tappening, an activist
marketing group , created a series of ads asserting falsehoods such as “Bottled Water
Causes Blindness in Puppies” and “Bottled Water Makes Acid Rain Fall on Play-
grounds,” with the tagline “If bottled water companies can lie, we can too.” In 2008, the
US Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution to bring attention to the issue. New York
launched an ad campaign to promote the benefits of tap water; Boston and Salt Lake
City signed on to the campaign, and San Francisco banned city-funded purchases of
bottled water. Faith-based groups, such as the National Coalition of American Nuns,
have joined the anti-bottled-water campaign in the belief that water, like air, should be
considered a God-given resource that should not be sold for profit. “Our faith tells us
to be just and not exploit the poor,” said Sister Mary Ann Coyle , who regards drinking
bottled water “a sin.” In 2010, Congress considered a bill that would impose a 4 percent
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