Ethical Eating: The Truth About Water
November 7, 2009
Aggressive advertising by corporations has convinced many US citizens that drinking bottled water is healthier and safer than drinking tap water. Guess what! It’s not. And there are good reasons to drink tap water instead. Although there are some places where mineral content adversely affects the taste of tap water, the truth is that tap water is safe to drink all over the USA and Europe (don’t try this in India or Africa). In fact, public water supplies are much more carefully regulated and more frequently tested than the sources of bottled water, which is one of the least-regulated industries. And about 40% of the sources of bottled water are merely tap water from somewhere else! Recent studies by the National Resources Defense Council concluded that bottled water is not safer or cleaner than tap water. (Go to their website at nrdc.org/water for details.)
People, including those who can least afford it, spend 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than tap water. Providence Water recently pointed out in their annual water quality report to consumers (which you all received – remember?) that 8 glasses of water per day, including that used to make coffee, tea, juice, etc., costs $1400 per person annually if bottled water is used, whereas the same amount of tap water would cost 49 cents!
And then there are all those plastic bottles. Despite nationwide efforts to recycle, the Container Recycling Institute estimates that 90% of plastic water bottles end up in landfills. And if you need more convincing, there are the costs to the environment of moving all that water from one place to another. I am always surprised when I notice huge trucks delivering massive quantities of water to residences, stores, and restaurants.
Okay – once in a while a Pellegrino or Gerolsteiner is a treat – but, for every day use, drink water from your tap and be grateful for safe drinking water. It is a privilege that all too many citizens of this world lack. This is one ethical choice that is easy to make.