Why You Should Never Drink Bottled Water
What's behind bottle water, and how Nestle is trying to privatize all the world's drinking water.
#1 The Beginning of the Insanity
What could be more decadent than to package, sell and consume what most consider (in the western world) a
common human right easily supplied through a home faucet! It wasn't until the 1990s when bottled H2O became an everyday common sight and a symbol of our cultural desire towards fitness and "health-consciousness". Even today health enthusiasts claim drinking water often helps to "detox and boost the metabolism!"
There have been controversies about chemicals leeching into the water from the soft plastic material of bottles, but the FDA determined the containers "do not pose a health risk to consumers." IBISWorld reports that the "U.S. is the largest consumer for bottled water in the world, followed by Mexico, China, and Brazil".
#2 The Bottled Water Scheme
Regular drinking water competes with itself in a bottle, but reviewing
the cost difference, you've got to wonder why or how? As for the water
piped into your home or work place, it costs less than one penny per
gallon! Fairfax Water organization, (FCWA) states, "The average price of water in the U.S. is about $1.50 for 1,000 gallons."Let's look at your favorite 20 oz. bottled H2O, it will run you up to $3 per bottle at the corner convenience store and up to $4 at a posh restaurant or nightclub. If you buy bulk at Costo or other markets, the price averages are .31 cents per bottle, but that still remains enormously expensive when compared to tap water. Granted many don't like tap water quality, but modern technology allows for an array of water filters.
In the mid-1990s, soda companies found that the niche market for bottled water could be huge, why not? The profits were obvious! Pepsi and Coca-Cola jumped into a race with their brands Aquafina and Dasani; they led the way to making bottled water what it is today.
#3 What's in an Ad?
It appears people really love their bottled water, today there are
dozens of brands and that merits big advertising! The Huffington Post
stated that in 2013 Americans drank 58 gallons of bottled water per
capita!With the help of advertisements, bottled water has gone from "reservoir to faddish luxury item to mass commodity." Bottled H2O is being directly or indirectly sold as: healthy, smart, pure, sexy, clean and simple, it is "the stuff of life." Ad slogans go like this, Dasani by Coca-Cola: "Treat yourself well. Everyday." Volvic: "Fills you with volcanicity." Aquafina by Pepsi-Cola: "So pure, we promise nothing." Arrowhead by Mountain Spring Water, USA: "Arrowhead. It's Better Up Here!" Evian: "Approved by your body as a source of youth." Pure Life by Nestle: "DRINK BETTER. LIVE BETTER."
No matter how much emotion an advertisements conjures, be it love, fear or rage, in the end water is just water whether bottled or tap. The difference is only in taste, and Evian has to be the only one tastier than tap water, but that's only if tap water hasn't been filtered. "Taste comes from negligible amounts of minerals" and filtered tap water removes minerals and chemicals rendering it with no hint of aftertaste, even at room temperature and most importantly the "2 hydrogen to 1 oxygen" part of water we need never changes.
#4 The Costs: Beyond Money
It’s absurd that the cost of designer water is at a "280,000% markup" to
your tap water and it's reaching record heights in consumption.The
comforting illusion of better water (bottled water) requires a lot of
resource to manufacture and merchandise. The industry requires the cost
of natural rivers and streams, semi-truck exhaust and diesel fuel,
packaging, labeling, pollution of non-biodegradable plastic and the
managing of recycling centers.If you visit a gas station store or grocery store, you're bound to see that a full third of all cold beverages on sale are bottled water. The Sierra Club explains, “Annually the water bottles themselves take about 1.5 million tons of plastic to manufacture for the global market.” Did you know plastics come from oil and therefore it takes 1.5 million barrels of oil a year?
Additionally the manufacturing process releases toxins into the environment, such as nickel, ethylbenzene, ethylene oxide and benzene. Even with current plastic recycling centers, “most used bottles end up in landfills, adding to the landfill crisis."
#5 What About Health and Safely?
On the World Health Organization's (WHO) website, they claimed many Europeans believe natural mineral waters have medicinal or health properties. Although WHO didn't find evidence to support the mineral water benefits. Many researchers conclude that the benefits of bottled water are based mainly on a common misconception.
A large majority of consumers drink bottled water because they believe it has better health benefits, as well as better taste. Interestingly the Environmental News Network reported, on the TV show Good Morning America, a taste test revealed that NYC tap water was chosen as the favorite over the oxygenated water 02, Poland Spring and Evian!
#6 Reviewing Ecosystems
Corporations like Coca-cola, Nestle, Pepsi, Evian and Fiji Water are
making billions of dollars on water. Many people are unhappy with
their practices, such as sucking up spring water from underground
aquifers that are the source of water for nearby streams, wells, and
farms.In Mecosta County, Michigan, Nestle was court-ordered to stop taking spring water as it proved threatening to the surrounding ecosystem. They have around 75 springs in the U.S. and are actively searching to take on more. They own water rights in Aurora County, Colorado, in which they’ve built a diversion of water to the Arkansas River to replace water there, which they are siphoning from underground aquifers that would normally feed into that river.
What's important about the aquifers is that they safely store precious water underground throughout Colorado during the dry seasons. Sarah Olson, producer of the documentary 'Tapped,' notes, "Nestle has a history of pumping more water than its permits allow." She claims the situation is difficult to monitor and easy for Nestle to take advantage of. Aquifers are significant to the state's community survival, especially with current warming climate trends.
#7 Nestles' Monopoly
Nestle's powerful army of scientists, PR consultants, lawyers and lobbyists allow them to stifle and suppress local opposition to its operations. In California, it took 6 years for the tiny town of McCloud to defeat Nestles plans to build a facility and take 1,250 gallons per minute of Mount Shasta spring water. Nestle then swiftly moved its plan to Sacramento with more success, ‘The Sacramento News and Review' reported that Michelle Smira, one of the mayor's top volunteer advisors, "stepped down to run her consulting business, MMS Strategies. Guess who her big client was? That would be Nestle."
Evidently she was hired by Nestle Waters to win the "hearts and minds, and gain building permits" for the controversial water bottling facility. Sacramento exists currently in a drought and residents are asked to conserve water, all-the-while Nestle by contract has no limit on how much water they can pump, they're on a flat rate. The City Councilmember Kevin McCarty calculated "their profits margin will be roughly 10,000 percent!"
#8 Nestle As The Multinational
In Pakistan, Nestle controls a town’s water supply, forcing local residents to dig deeper for any non-polluted water that remains or they must pay Nestle’s high price to get their water back. In the documentary film 'Bottled Life', director Res Gehriger explains that in the U.S. and E.U., Nestle mainly sells spring water in the location that it originates. Although in developing countries, it's gone another route by extracting local water and enriching it with minerals. This bottled water is the company’s Pure Life brand, it’s the top-selling bottled water brand internationally.Filmmaker, Gehriger was prevented from entering into Pakistan’s bottling facility, although he researched the area and found that the water levels had indeed dramatically fallen. This is concerning because Pakistan's public water system is known to be failing or is "close to collapse."
Pure Life is harvested, manufactured and marketed locally, but it's price is too high for the natives to afford. In places like Nigeria, where Nestle has also set up camp, African families spend half their salaries on water. Only the very wealthy can afford to purchase Nestle's Pure Life.
#9 The Case of Nestle/Perrier in Brazil
France's bottled mineral water Perrier made it's debut in the 1770s, but
by 1990 the company ran into trouble when it was tested in a U.S. lab,
and the carcinogen, Benzene was found. Soon after in 1992, Nestle
bought Perrier and today the green emerald bottle sells in 140
counties worldwide. Nestle also since acquired Poland Spring, San
Pellegrino and numerous other bottled water brands. Nestle/Perrier, the corporation opened a bottling plant in Sao Lourenco, Brazil. The area is well known for its, "water circuits, and it's has the country's most historic sources of mineral water. This was perfect for the Nestle/Perrier's Pure Life brand, as the natural spring had what many believed to be healing minerals. But natives accused the company of over-pumping and drying up the local waters.
Then a member of the International Free Water Academy, Franklin Frederick said, "If the water is pumped in quantities greater than nature can replace it, its mineral content will gradually decrease, bringing the change in taste that we were noticing". In 2006, four years later, the Federal Government found Nestle/Perrier in violation of constitutional prohibitions on de-mineralizing water; they were stopped and fined.
#10 The Designer Water Coup
Premium bottled water being sold to rich trendy people is not uncommon
and Nestlé's introduction of a new brand of bottled water called
Resource, aims to do just that! It's "got electrolytes" and when you
drink it, you'll enter a state of enlighted "electrolytenment" to
"sustain your soul"! Who doesn't want to obtain some sort of nirvana, right? Additionally the narrative is that Resource will benefit you as well as the Earth: "Full of electrolytes, its recycled bottle gives you the best of nature." Now, if you're confused, that's exactly what Nestle's wants!
Nestlé is proud to be using 50% recycled plastic in their "sustainably sourced" bottles, and wants you should feel good about too. But what about the other 50%? It still continues to damage the environment while taxpayers pay the price of huge recycling and waste for the tens of millions for plastic bottles used annually by Nestlé to sell water. Nestlé knows - you know that plastics are not good for the environment, but studies show fancy ads will do the trick for sales and profits.
#11 It's All About The Filter!
The thing about tap water is it's treated with chlorine to kill
bacteria. The other part of the treatment is a filtration process,
which is more or less the same as what the bottled water company’s use.
Tap water is good and safe to drink, that's unless there’s fracking in
your state, then there’s fracking fluid seeping into the ground and that
can't be good! If you don't care for the taste or "feel" of chlorine coming through your tap, then it can be removed easily enough with a filter. In fact, a Brita water filter works wonders and if you'd like to keep the skin on your face soft and younger looking, fill a washbasin with home filtered water and wash you face! Also to save money, keep the Brita filters longer than the company recommends, it just the tap water will drain through the filter a bit slower.
We wouldn't recommend walking about with a big Brita jug and chugging from it, like in the image. Instead, consider getting those Aluminum Water Bottles that are quite inexpensive and come in various sizes; they'll last forever!
#12 California's Water
The majority of California’s water supply (75%) comes from north of Sacramento, while 80% of the water feeds the southern 2/3rds of the state. We've mention that Nestle has a legal grip on a large portion of Sacramento water, and the city is battling it out after realizing in hindsight that they agreed to more than they should give. The farming industry is huge in California and 80-85% of all its water is being used for agricultural purposes.
The Los Angeles Aqueduct carries water from the Eastern Sierra Nevada down to Los Angeles. The drinking water quality has less chlorine and is noticeably "softer" nearer to its source. Although controversial, 30% of all public water providers in the state, fluoridate their water.
#13 Care & Attention Where Needed
For example in California, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimated in 2013 a required amount of $39 - $44.5 billion is needed in improvements to the state's drinking water infrastructure. In addition a worse problem is that nationwide, 7 billion gallons of clean drinking water is lost everyday because of leaky pipes.. Yikes!
Most of the U.S. drinking water infrastructure is 50 to 100 years old, and the risk of contamination grows as pipes age and break down further. What is that old saying? .."You never miss the water till the well runs dry."
#14 Is It or Is It Not?!
Look at the label carefully, does it read "purified" or "drinking water"? If so, chances are it is from a municipal water supply, and unless the water has been “substantially” altered, it’s required to be stated on the label, that the water’s from a municipal source.
Here's a list of bottled waters which are from municipal sources: Pepsi's Aquafina, Coke’s Dasani, and now it looks like Nestle's Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water is up in the air with a class action lawsuit for a document revealing a 5 gal water bottle that was defined by Nestle as, "municipal water and/or well water" processed by Nestle's treatment plants and repackaged with images of pristine glacial lakes and mountains.
#15 Should Water Be Privatized?
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, is the CEO of the Nestle Corporation. In a youtube video he describes that people's access to water as being a basic human right is "extreme". He also argues that the water supply ought to have a market value and be privatized, "because people have a sense of entitlement that causes them to waste copious amounts of water."This would mean the price we pay today for our home tap would be small in comparison. Corporations like Nestle, Pepsi and Coca-cola are pining to buy up or lease land and water rights globally, some of us in the end could be obligated to their fees!
Brabeck-Letmathe is quoted in The Guardian saying that he would allow people a limited amount of water as a human right, and this would be, "five liters of water for daily hydration and 25 liters for minimum hygiene and he would charge for the remainder of the 98.5% of the water if used." What would happen to the poor who cannot afford to pay these said corporations? Should they suffer from starvation due to their lack of financial wealth?
#16 Water Wars?
With climate change, it seems that reports show droughts are our new
reality. Mark Twain wrote, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for
fighting over”. Water seems to be everywhere, but throughout history it's always been a precious resource. The water source taken from the Colorado River is divided up for U.S. states, and they’re running at abnormally low water levels. The river feeds the upper states (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming) and then it delivers a certain amount of water to the Lower Basin (New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada). An early provision also allows California and its rapidly growing coastal cities to grab excess water coming off the Colorado River, but since Arizona and Nevada cities have expanded, the surplus has disappeared and California is left with no water.
If the Nestle’s Colorado bottled water operation doesn’t appear totally irrational, consider CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe strict ideas on water rights. It kind of all falls into place, his reasoning behind “water privatization”. Nestle knows first hand as they pine for water around the world that the golden source is getting precarious.
#17 Clean Tap Water For Everyone?
The World Health Organization estimates more than one billion people lack reliable safe drinking water. 80% of all illness in the world is due to water-borne diseases. Inadequate water or sanitation kills around 5 million people a year. It makes sense why people turn to bottled water in the developing world, as it's often the only safe supply. But how about those who can't afford it?Wouldn't it be better if they had access to safe tap water instead? According to the International Water Management Institute, clean water could be provided to everyone on earth for "$1.7 billion a year beyond current spending projects and also to improve sanitation, a further $9.3 billion per year." This is less than a quarter of global annual spending on bottled water!
For developed world dwellers, the choice of water is a lifestyle option. Many turn their backs on clean tap water in place of the bottled variety. Can you imagine if we stop spending money on bottled water and funnel it to water charities?
#18 So, Who's To Own Our Water?
In Elizabeth Royte's book 'Bottlemania', she quotes a Pepsi executive,
"When we are done, tap water will be relegated to showers and washing
dishes." That was a bold statement in 2000, but today our most basic
human need, drinking water is uncertain. Did you know members of the U.S. Congress and local politicians want to see private companies take over more water systems? Public utilities are financially struggling to meet federal clean water standards and maintain and modernize water systems, so it makes sense that corporations easily persuade them to sell off OUR public water systems. Investor owned utilities typically charge 33% more for water and 63% more for sewer service than local government utilities. Their increases are about 3 times the rate of inflation. Water privatization is happening to entire countries. In 2012 the U.S. had approx. 73 million people paying their water bills to private water schemes.
The United Nations projects two-thirds of the world’s population is expected to run short of fresh drinking water by 2025, leaving 2 out of 3 people in dire straits. Do we want those who make decisions around profit margins in power? The comedian and creator of 'Beavis and Butthead', Mike Judge's joke "in the future, water will be relegated to toilets", isn't sounding so funny!
#19 Grass-Root Activism
People are guarding their environmental rights by forming organizations
that do just that. Additionally they're supplying the public with
information and news that are often limited within popular news medias
or government bodies. 'Food & Water Watch' is an ally in organizing that the public resource of water, STAYS in public hands. They support residents, elected officials, water utility staff, and community leaders who are fighting to protect their water from corporate control. In addition, they alert public officials and concerned citizens about the economic, social and environmental benefits of local ownership, and the risks of water privatization. They even have a "No Bottled Water Pledge" to help break the bottled water habit!
'The Sierra Club' founded in 1892 has a track record ensuring corporate accountability. They've organized a special committee focused on Corporate Water Privatization and the Bottled Water Campaign. International and domestic up-to-date reports and legal records on the topic can be found on their website.
#20 End the Insanity!
The Goethe University at Frankfurt conducted another study: they found
that a high percentage of the bottled water contained in plastic
containers was polluted with estrogenic chemicals. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a U.S. research and advocacy organization that acts as a watchdog on behalf of citizens. They report, "Unlike tap water, where consumers are provided with test results every year, the bottled water industry is not required to disclose results of contaminant testing it conducts." They felt the water bottle industry is not held to the same safety standards of tap water. Their tests revealed 10 brands that had pollutants, including not only disinfection byproducts, but also common urban wastewater pollutants like caffeine and pharmaceuticals (Tylenol); heavy metals and minerals including arsenic and radioactive isotopes; fertilizer residue (nitrate and ammonia); and a broad range of other, tentatively identified industrial chemicals used as solvents, plasticizers, viscosity decreasing agents, and propellants.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a U.S. non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group and in 1999 they tested 22% of brands and at least one sample of bottled drinking water contained chemical contaminants at levels above strict FDA health limits. What can we do to drink with confidence? Buy a good filter and use it!