Why You Should Never Drink Bottled Water
1- The Beginning of the Insanity
Imagine there was a time when bottled water didn't exist in our catalog
of popular commodities. Perhaps the trend started in 1976 when the chic
French sparkling water, Perrier made its introduction. There it was
seductively bottled in its emerald green glass amongst the era of disco
and the spectacle of excesses . . . who could resist right?!
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".
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.
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.
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."
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."