Rabach VtP Annotation: Ethnographic Visualizations - Commodity

I think the VERY complicated layers of Nestle’s (who owns Ice Mountain) relationship with the State of Michigan could really add to the conversation of toxicity in this photo. Nestle water bottles were being sent to Flint, Michigan while simultaneously Nestle was involved in a major lawsuit where the company was essentially taking water from Michigan communities, bottling it, and then selling it for profit. Complicated environmental issues, but also political issues are part of this lawsuit, but this messiness and sort of irony of Ice Mountain water bottles and the “Proud Midwest” narrative is complicated with this really sticky lawsuit. Here’s a recent article that gives a little background. Democratic state representatives have been vocal about these issues as well. So you could even look at the messaging of House Democrats and House Republicans (spring of 2017 had a lot of messaging on this).  I think this thread could really add to your title “commodity” as groundwater was literally treated as a commodity for Nestle for years as they sucked the water out of Michigan communities for almost no cost (very complicated and divisive political history with the permits in this case as well).