The battle of beverages

Despite the advent of the winter season, the electronic media is awash with commercials related to beverages. To the ads related to aerated drink and ‘colas’ have been added those about alternative beverages. In a world where large chunks of the population are clamouring for provision of clean drinking water, this should logically have resulted in the raising of a few discerning eyebrows. But this does not appear to be the case. Should one, then, put the blame on the march of civilisation?

Parallel to the phenomenon aforementioned is the widespread use of bottled (read designer) water. Among the wealthy sections of society, there are children who have grown up to believe that nature provides drinking water exclusively in sealed bottles. One learnt to one’s horror, through one of those billboards that blight the skyline of our cities, that a certain brand had the distinction of being ‘Pakistan’s favorite water’. This was momentous news for those of us who had grown up with the local lore that the best water came from natural springs. That shows you how values have changed!

If one were to put a finger on the nub of the matter, one can point to the epoch when the economy whiz-kids of the world realised that there was big money to be made from water. The commodity that was considered nature’s gift to mankind thus became a saleable commodity and one out of which millions could be earned without much effort. The only hurdle in the way of the brigade aforementioned was the way this commodity was available free and in abundance. So, what better way to vault this hurdle than to contaminate the natural sources of water?

How one misses the time when the ultimate thirst quencher was, well, plain water! Alas, no more, at least in the urban areas! It is considered infra dig to imbibe plain water if one happens to be thirsty; you go instead for what is euphemistically known as a ‘beverage’. For those who still thirst for plain old water, there is always the alternative of ‘designer water’ in a fancy bottle.

While this game is being played in prosperous societies, a sizeable proportion of the world’s population does not have access to clean drinking water. This fact has been stressed in several international conferences. Yet, mainly due to the inaction of powers that be, children of numerous societies around the world continue to die by the hundreds of thousands because they are condemned to drinking contaminated water.

Meanwhile, the battle of beverages continues to rage on. Alternative beverages, as well as ‘designer’ waters, compete with one another in a never-ending battle for pelf. Multinational beverage giants continue to rake in billions. The Third World and the common man, as is the norm, remain at the receiving end where they belong.

Having come this far, it may, with reason, be asked: can anything be done about it?

The intention here is not to condemn bottled beverages, designer water or even those that thrive on this market. But those condemned to drink contaminated water in any part of the world do need a break. So how about sparing a thought for them to suggest a feasible blueprint to help them out of their misery?

The multinational beverage conglomerates need to be reminded of their duty towards the welfare of humanity at large. Profits from the sale of bottled beverages and water are astronomical. Would it be too much to expect these multinational giants to put aside a small proportion of their profits — say ten per cent — to be utilised under the general supervision of a relevant body of the UN for projects intended for the express purpose of making available clean drinking water to the deprived sections of the world populace?

It is time that a tad more attention was paid to those deprived segments of the population of this blessed planet that have long been at the receiving end. The time to do it is now. A little later may well turn out to be too little too late.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 24^th, 2018.

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