Water is everywhere! In the media, on the news, people everywhere are being showered with the happenings of water. However, there seems to be a quite a stir in the discussion of bottled water versus tap water, and which is better for the consumer.
There are recent health crazes sweeping the world and fears of water pollutants that would make a bottle of water seem mouth wateringly good. Yet, recently there seem to be studies coming forth just dripping with information that tap water is not worse, and could quite possibly even be better for a person to drink than the originally thought bottled water.
It is not surprising that most people believe that bottled water is in fact healthier than tap water when there are so many people that profit from the sales of the simple thing of bottling water. Bottling, transporting, selling, all of these take time and money, maybe that can explain why bottled water costs between 500 and 1000 times more than municipal water costs. Now the fastest growing and second highest grossing beverage producer in the world, the bottled water industry has a lot to lose with the loss of ignorance, 22 billion dollars a year, to be exact.
Some may argue that bottled water is safer, or that “bottled water’s quality is consistent,” like Stephen Kay, a spokesman for the International Bottled Water Association. Strange how the arguments for how much better and safer bottled water is comes from the people that plan to profit from the sales. Fear is brought to America from half way across the world after hearing horror stories of contaminated water and the excruciating ailments that can follow. Well the Minnesota Department of Health stands in agreement with the safety of bottled water, although, the department also stated that people should feel the same about the municipal water here in the United States. The reason being that municipal water that is distributed to more than 25 consumers is subject to a federal act called the Safe Drinking Water Act that was implemented in 1995 and later amended in ‘96. What this does is force water to be tested for harmful contaminants often.
Tap water still holds a couple of aces up its proverbial sleeve. Bottled water does go through many purifying and cleaning stages. Something many people do not realize is that tap water is a dentist’s worst nightmare, for it contains a horrific, horrendous, absolutely appalling ingredient: Fluoride according to Dr. Robert Ophaug, a professor of oral health at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry. This amazing hidden health benefit is not the only attribute that municipal water has over its pricey cousin, bottled water. Municipal water does not last forever in a landfill. In fact, simple water is completely biodegradable and is even known to occasionally help the environment.
It seems quite atrocious, the idea of spending 1000 times the amount of municipal water, on bottled water when the only difference between bottled water and tap water appears to be that it is distributed in bottles rather than through pipes (Ferrier). That and bottles fill landfills and pollute the Earth, but that is not something that will effect humans ever or anything. All is well.
Sarah's Words
