About the Movement
A grassroots awareness movement demanding disclosure for the most under-regulated chemical in modern life.
Our Mission
Disclosure first. Decisions second. Citizens always.
Citizens Against DHMO is the leading grassroots movement working to bring disclosure, accountability, and transparency to the use of dihydrogen monoxide in food, schools, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, and the data centers that power modern computing.
We are not anti-DHMO. We are anti-secrecy. We believe citizens have the right to know what they and their children are being exposed to, in what quantities, by whom, and with what downstream consequences. The default of no disclosure is no longer acceptable.
We work through chapter organizing, public-records advocacy, regulatory petitioning, citizen-science research, and the patient long-form work of changing what an institution is willing to disclose. We have been at this since 2019. We will be at this for as long as it takes.
Our Story
From a single thread to a national movement
2019
The viral thread
Founder Callum Rutherford posts a thread documenting his discovery of measurable DHMO in his children's bath water. The thread receives 4.7 million views in 72 hours and becomes the founding moment of the movement.
2020
First chapter formed
Concerned neighbors in Plano, TX organize the first official Citizens Against DHMO chapter. Chapter charters are codified and a national-volunteer template is published.
2021
First federal petition filed
The movement files its first formal petition with the FDA, requesting DHMO disclosure on infant-formula labels. The petition is acknowledged but not acted upon — a pattern that will recur.
2022
DHMO Exposure Index v1 published
Chief Science Officer Lachlan Whitford publishes the first version of the DHMO Exposure Index, a standardized measurement methodology that allows chapters to quantify and compare local exposure regimes.
2023
First litigation win
Pro bono legal counsel coordinated by the movement successfully litigates the disclosure of municipal DHMO usage records in three western states. The records are made public and used to inform subsequent chapter campaigns.
2024
47 chapters active nationwide
The movement crosses the 47-chapter threshold. National chapter-leader convening held in Boulder, CO. The annual State of DHMO Disclosure report is launched.
2025
2.4M citizens informed
Reach milestone: an estimated 2.4 million citizens directly informed about DHMO through movement programs, social media, earned media, and chapter outreach. 318,000 petition signatures collected in a single year.
2026
Federal disclosure framework, in progress
Three petitions advance to formal regulatory comment periods. The movement enters its sixth year with more institutional traction than at any prior point in its history.
What We Believe
A short statement of principles
- Disclosure is the floor, not the ceiling. Citizens cannot consent to what they have not been told.
- Institutional secrecy about a substance present in 100% of human bodies is a public-trust failure.
- Modern fearmongering tropes are not always wrong. Sometimes a substance really is everywhere.
- We support the broader climate, wellness, and consumer-protection movements. We are asking them to name DHMO with the precision their work deserves.
- Children are not consenting parties. Schools must do better.
- The agencies move when citizens insist. We will continue to insist.