I’ve always thought drinking bottled water was about the most ridiculous, inexplicable phenomenon in modern popular culture and now I have some stats to prove it:
Minneapolis Star Tribune
By John Ewoldt
July 02, 2007
A wave of guilty bemusement washed over Tom Chochrek of Edina as he pulled a 12-pack of Ice Mountain off the shelf at Target. "It galls me that I buy it," he said. "I could get it cheaper from the tap, but that's not so practical in the car with the kids."
Why do so many Americans choose bottled water? Certainly convenience, but better taste and smell are reasons, too. Many Americans believe that bottled water not only tastes better, but contains fewer impurities. The labels soothe us with words such as "purified,"natural springs,"artesian" and even "wellness water." Who wouldn't want to drink liquid refreshment that comes from an aquifer deep within the Earth on a remote island? That sounds better than "from the river so murky you're afraid to swim or fish in it."
Still, in a blind, informal taste test in the newsroom, seven of eight tasters thought that Minneapolis tap water was equal to or better than Dasani, Ice Mountain or Fiji. Only one taster preferred the most expensive water from the island. Others said it was "so so,"flat" or "had an aftertaste." One reviewer was convinced that all four were the same.
In 2000, Lynne Rossetto Kasper of the Splendid Table radio show did a taste test comparing Dasani, Evian, Chippewa and Minneapolis tap water. Not only did Minneapolis tap win, but Kasper was sure that Evian was tap water.
What many buyers of bottled water may not know is that Coca-Cola (Dasani), Pepsi (Aquafina) or Nestle (Ice Mountain) don't have to release their water testing results to the public like municipalities do. Nor do they add fluoride to deter tooth decay, as most municipal water operations do.
Minneapolis, for example, tests its water for more than 100 contaminants. A new filtration system in Columbia Heights removes more impurities than are required for federal water quality standards. More than 500,000 residents, including Minneapolis, Golden Valley, Crystal, New Hope and Columbia Heights get water from its plant.
Buying a bottle of water at a convenience store for 79 cents may seem cheap, but a consumer can fill the same bottle 2,850 times at the price of Minneapolis water, according to the city's website. While many Americans moan about the price of gasoline, few seem to groan about the price of bottled water, which, if you're choosing Fiji's rectangular bottle, costs about $8.50 a gallon ($2.25 for a 1-liter bottle). In total, Americans spend about $11 billion yearly on bottled water.
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The article has a 2nd part that goes on to discuss the amount of oil used to produce those disposable plastic bottles and how only 20% of them are recycled (a far lower percentage within the wall at my place of work, I might add). It also mentions that theres a growing movement of critics of the industry, pointing out the ethical sticky wicket of using all that energy to bottle, transport (transport of goods over long distances fast becoming my new issue of choice), and package this "fancy" water for US citizens, when there's lots of people in the world that would give anything for a plentiful supply of plain old halfway clean tap water.
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6 comments:
A few thoughts:
The cost (in all senses) of transportation is one that I'm increasingly factoring into my choices, especially when deciding between organic and regionally grown foods. Tough sometimes.
Fluoride may not be the great thing we've all been told. Fluoride is toxic (in high concentrations) and one of the original reasons for adding it to water was not for some greater good, but instead was a way for the aluminum industry to get rid of an unwanted by-product. Most countries have stopped doing it.
I drink tap water mostly, though at work it's been run through a reverse osmosis process (Newburyport water tastes like the ocean) and at home we have a filter. Occasionally I'll pick up a bottle of water, though it's usually when 'on the road'.
I agree bottled water gives one the choice of a non-carb beverage, but I've tried to acknowledge other things, like the waste of the plastic after drinking 16 oz. of water. The plastic isn't a good combo with the water, either. And I've really had to come to grips that now, Coke (and Pepsi) has a stake in water.
I hate carbonated beverages, I just hate how they taste and how they make my body feels. So when water is offered as a choice an events, I usually go for the water.
Oh yeah - the bottles are made from polyethylpthalates, and pthalates are known to cause organ damage in rats.
Why not just carry a Nalgene or equivalent re-usable container?
And I do. At functions (say, someone's wedding, or an off-site office party), I'll grab the water. Unless I'm off the pager, then it's blitz time.
I probably would follow a similar course, but the whole "bottling of water" thing has driven me nuts since the inception of the fad, and I've always avoided imbibing it at nearly all costs - and that was even pre-me-knowing-much-about-it.
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