The Most Brazen Rip-Off Ever? How the Beverage Industry Brainwashed You to Fear Tap Water

[Panich52]

The Most Brazen Rip-Off Ever? How the Beverage Industry Brainwashed You to Fear Tap Water
Tap water is superior to bottled water. Why don't consumers know that?

The biggest con job perpetrated on the consumer is not some shady operation selling bogus cures through TV infomercials. America’s biggest snake-oil salesman is actually the beverage industry, or Big Bev, which resells the simplest and most vital product for thousands of times its value. That product is drinking water.

Multinationals ... rake in a combined $110 billion a year selling bottled water worldwide. ...

But the expensive water the beverage industry sells is no better — and possibly worse — than the water you get from your tap (and often, the water they sell is tap water). So how did these companies fool the public into paying a few bucks for something that costs a few pennies per gallon from a faucet?

Fear. These multinationals have spent millions on marketing to convince consumers that tap water tastes bad, contains high levels of contaminants and poses a danger to human health. ...

... With some 92% of tap water meeting state and federal standards, the U.S. has the cleanest and safest public water supply in the world. ...

To make matters worse, the supposedly healthy alternative is virtually unregulated. The water from a public utility is constantly monitored under Environmental Protection Agency standards, but bottled water does not have to meet those standards. In fact, independent testing of bottled water has indicated that microbiological impurities and high levels of fluoride and arsenic posed health concerns. 

-snip-

More
http://www.alternet.org/fear-america/how-beverage-industry-gets-you-fear-your-water?akid=12890.1924881._Cj8Ep&rd=1&src=newsletter1033204&t=2

[cherokeeprogressive]

1. Oooh I LOVE the taste of chlorine and rusty metal.

Not.

[longship]

5. Which is in the bottled water, too. Pshaw! nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

7. If you're trying to tell me a pint of Sparkletts tastes like the tap water in Big Bear Lake...

I'm just going to have to laugh and wonder if you've ever been there.

[longship]

8. I've been there a few times.

There are other solutions than rip off bottled water. For instance, reverse osmosis, which is not expensive.

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. I'm open to that. n/t

[DesertDiamond]

37. I get reverse osmosis water from a store, it's way cheaper than bottled water, and tastes AMAZING!

And yes, now that I've been spoiled by reverse osmosis, I've found that bottled water tastes the same or worse than tap water! Except for distilled water, which I use when I can't get reverse osmosis.

[Beaverhausen]

55. Not all of us own homes so reverse osmosis isn't an option

And also, just how "not expensive" is it?

[longship]

57. A couple hundred bucks for an under counter unit.

I installed one myself a couple decades ago. Once installed, you have plenty of water for cooking and drinking, depending the size of the small tank. It's pretty easy. And the water is pretty damned good.

[Jetboy]

16. Is bottled water progress to you?

It's offensive to me much the same as racism, sexism, homophobia or littering. We as progressives know better than to toss hundreds of plastic bottles into the trash.

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. Not only do I recycle; I work for the disposal company.

[Jetboy]

21. They still manufacture those bottles by the millions.

And unless demand subsides, this will likely continue.

[cherokeeprogressive]

24. Billions. But do feel free to preach to someone else.

I buy a bottle of water every now and then. When I'm done with it I put the bottle in a recycle container. All your preaching ain't gonna change that. Neither will trying to shame me with what "good progressives" do or would never do.

[Jetboy]

28. That's great. The OP is about bottled water which is manufactured by the billions as

you say. You don't buy a 24 pack every 2 days or whatever. Obviously that is what I'm talking about- the bottom line- no bottles going to the landfill. People who do fill the landfill should be shamed.

[yeoman6987]

22. Answer me one question.

Why does bottled water taste so good, but tap water tastes terrible in comparison? I have lived in numerous states over the years and have not found any that taste as good as bottled water. Is it that bottled water is from springs? I am all for conservation but I want water to taste good especially since we have to drink 64 ounces a day.

[Jetboy]

23. I don't care how bottled water tastes.

Anyone can get a reverse osmosis deal or whatever. I just run the tap wide open for 2 minutes and my water tastes just fine. Drinking bottled water is no different than driving a big SUV. It's just wrong.

[yeoman6987]

25. What? Compare SUV to water? Well get me some good tasting tap

And I will stop buying bottled water. Bottled water is not particularly expensive. SUVs are.

[Jetboy]

30. Plastic bottles by the billions just aren't good for the planet.

If you can just refill the bottle like the other guy, then it's not a problem.

[yeoman6987]

31. Maybe you are right,

I don't think you are helping the planet by running the tap for two minutes every time you need water. That can accumulate quick.

[Jetboy]

34. I do it once a day and gather all of the water I need for the day.

The first 2 minutes don't go to waste as the first minute is for plants and the second for pet. By then the tap water tastes as good as it possibly can which is great here. Other places may need a filter to drink.

I don't recommend others do just what I do, it just makes common sense to not fill up the landfill with bottles.

[yeoman6987]

39. You are good I must say.

Good for you. You really are a friend to the Earth. Me? I don't know really.

[Treant]

26. It's just pure water

in that bottle. Yes, pure water...and just a few parts per million of LSD...

/Futurama

They probably filter the water better than the municipal sources do. RO or even a decent filtration system should result in much nicer tap water for you. I'm fortunate, I live in an area with one of the best tap water supplies in the nation.

[yeoman6987]

29. Your lucky. Florida is horrible, Arnold Maryland is ok

I live in Florida and rent out the house in Maryland so I am stuck with Florida water.

[Art_from_Ark]

46. Here in Japan, those plastic bottles are recycled

There's even a trash collection day especially designated for PET(E) bottles. I don't buy bottled water, but I do buy other bottled beverages in those bottles and they go to the recycler when they've served their purpose.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

58. Some "progressives" are all about progress/principles until it

gets in the way or presents some sort of inconvenience.

In other words, screw the environment as long I have what I want. The same people who were appalled by turtles and dolphins showing up sporting 6-pack rings have no problem with billions of plastic bottles in the environment because maybe the water in them is better than tap.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

63. If my brother drinks the local tap water, he shits himself

What's the breaking point on your principles?

[cali]

45. My tap water tastes better than any bottled water I've tried

gravity fed town water from a spring.

[cherokeeprogressive]

49. Spring water is awesome.

There is a small spring near me. Ice cold. I love it.

[cali]

50. however, if my tap water tasted like some tap water I've had, I damn well would buy water.

[Matariki]

54. Get a water filter if you pipes are old and your city uses too much chlorine

better than polluting the world with millions of plastic bottles.

[cherokeeprogressive]

56. Maybe you should read my posts before you tell me what to do.

[Jetboy]

2. I've never bought bottled water.

And never will.

[Lilyhoney]

3. My city tap water tastes awful.

My city tap water is also publicly known to have metal cleaning solvent in unacceptable levels. Our water is very hard as well.

I drink several cups of tea a day and can not tolerate the results of the tap water. I do buy steam distilled water by the gallon or aquafina. It tastes good.

When I lived in Chicago near the water filtration plant I was more than happy with my tap water.

California water sucked. Florida water sucked.

My tea is a quality of life issue. I love to enjoy my cup of tea. A bad cup of tea will ruin my day. First world problem I know.

I come from generations of tea drinkers so this is my heritage. And I treasure it.

Lily honey

[longship]

6. Consider a reverse osmosis system.

They are economical and produce very drinkable water.

They go under the kitchen sink and have a separate spigot for water for cooking, drinking, etc. You can get a reusable water bottle if you need water on the road. Etc.

Look into it.

[taught_me_patience]

38. A big waste of water

On most systems, waste 2 gallons for every gallon produced. Also, RO strips all minerals from the water... completely unnecessary and might be dangerous to health.

A simple carbon filter will make water taste good. RO is completely and totally overkill, wasteful, and most likely unhealthy.

[randome]

44. That's what I use. It makes a difference and is inexpensive.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]I'm always right. When I'm wrong I admit it.
So then I'm right about being wrong.[/center][/font][hr]

[Ron Obvious]

4. I've always known that.

I remember taking a marketing class back in the 70's in which the instructor told us that, through proper marketing, people could even be induced to buy water in bottles.

My, how we laughed... It seemed so absurd.

I have a feeling they're trying to shut down public drinking fountains as well, because fewer appear to be operational every year, and people seem to be more scared of using them now.

Hell, I know a guy who proudly proclaims he never even cooks with tap water. Hard to argue against such ignorance.

[Art_from_Ark]

47. I've been in places in Massachusetts and Louisiana

where I wouldn't use the tap water for cooking. It tasted that bad.

[Ron Obvious]

53. Sure

But here in Seattle we have excellent-tasting water. My friend was concerned about "impurities" and pathogens and I can't convince him that boiling the water kills off most pathogens anyway even if they would have been present.

I don't know about Louisiana, but I've lived in Massachusetts (Amherst) and the water there was fine. The worst water I've personally encountered was in El Paso, which both tasted bad but you could also see stuff floating in it if you held it up to the light. My wife had persistent stomach issues when we lived there.

[Art_from_Ark]

59. I was in the Southbridge area of Massachusetts

and the water tasted like rust. It might have been from old pipes for all I know, but I do know that it was almost unpalatable.

Water in the Opelousas, Louisiana area had a heavy sulfur taste.

[bhikkhu]

9. I've always been fine with city water, but my kids...

will only drink bottled water. We go through a case of 24 a week, for years now. They say it tastes better, and have a preferred brand. Of course I can't tell the difference, but we don't keep soda or HFCS drinks around the house so its a relatively small expense.

[AwakeAtLast]

51. Have thought about getting a Brita pitcher?

That would reduce the plastic and the water tastes good (at least mine does). Keeping it in the refrigerator means that it is always cold and ready to drink.

[MADem]

10. My water tastes fine. If I'm ever anywhere where the water stinks, I'll use a filtration system.

I won't add to the disgusting mounds of waste by buying plastic bottles of stuff that comes out of the tap.

[MisterP]

11. "$110 billion a year selling bottled water worldwide"

do they mean the hundred-plus countries were you can't drink the tap water?

[KG]

12. there's visible stuff floating around in tap water where i live. i still drink it, i just

use plastic tumblers so i don't have to look at it.

[itsrobert]

13. I drink filtered tap water

I save a lot of money that way.

[840high]

14. At home I use tap - in

car - bottled.

[Inkfreak]

41. Same. It's not really difficult to figure out why.

[EX500rider]

15. I let my tap water air out over night...

....it taste fine the next day.

[Tracyjo]

17. Two words

Pur pitcher.

[gollygee]

20. The water here tastes horrible

I use reverse osmosis. Yummmmmmy water. I don't use throw-away bottles. We have reusable bottles we fill with the reverse osmosis water and we take water places in them.

[malokvale77]

27. Dallas water is pretty good.

Except in the dog days when the algae turns over.

I do however, miss Minnesota spring water. I remember the roadside pumps where people could stop and fill jugs to their hearts content.

We had our own free running spring in our backyard. The water in our house was tied into it.

[cyberswede]

32. They didn't brainwash me. I've drunk tap water my whole life.

but I'm a cheapskate.

[jollyreaper2112]

33. My tap water is awful

South Florida. A filter pitcher or fridge filter fixes it just fine. I despise bottled water. The wife and I argue on this one. She likes having bottles to offer people and to take on the road. I say fill the damn bottles we have for that purpose in the first place.

She will often need to stop for a drink thirty minutes into a drive, dehydrated. I have outsmarted that by proactively filling a bottle before we hit the road for a long drive, problem solved.

When I eat in restaurants I will typically bring my own water because most of them fill with tap water. Yuck.

[Thespian2]

35. For the record,

pure water has no taste and no smell. I happen to be in Florida at the moment, and the local water makes me physically ill. I have to buy water even though I do not want to.

At my home in Canada, I have well water which is filtered before entering the system. Best water ever. No taste. No smell.

[YOHABLO]

36. My tap water reeks of chlorine. Boiling doesn't get the taste and smell out.

So it's not the beverage industry hood winking me .. I go by what my nose and taste buds tell me.

[Phentex]

60. Same here. Sometimes worse than others...

we do filter it but there can still be a strong chlorine smell.

[LadyHawkAZ]

40. I pay the $.25 a gallon to refill my bottles at the store

The water in my elderly building is slightly beige. Across town by the Kennecott mine the water is undrinkable and smells foul.

[Inkfreak]

42. We've got some of the best water in NY!!

But I'll still grab a bottled water for car rides. It's easy & quick.

[bedazzled]

43. i keep cans of seltzer in the car for emergencies

as aluminum cans are easily recyclable.

i think bottled water tastes bad in addition to the bottles being a real waste.

i never buy drinks in plastic cups when i eat out, either. the cups at 7-11 or burger king will last a hundred years! i just pop a can of seltzer or ask for a glass of water.

[blue neen]

48. Actually, this is why I fear tap water:

BEAVER RUN RESERVOIR (Please go to the link to check all of the pictures).

"Although fishing has been banned at Beaver Run Reservoir since 1952, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) decided to allow Marcellus Shale gas well drilling on their property next to this 1,300 acre lake in Salem, Bell and Washington townships. The lake provides water to 150,000 people in northern Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania."

UPDATES

"CNX cited after fracturing fluid spill at Beaver Run Reservoir"
"July 31, 2013 (TRIB ) – The state DEP has cited Consol Energy's CNX Gas after a spill of fracturing fluid at Beaver Run Reservoir June 1st at the Kuhn 3D pad when a leak occurred at a plumbing union."

"On June 13, a storm caused a containment dike around the Mamont 1 drilling pad to overflow muddy water down a hill towards the reservoir. Last July, CNX was cited after liquid cement leaked into a creek that empties into the reservoir at the Kuhns 3B well pad. Consol Energy has 36 horizontal Marcellus wells on 5 pads at Beaver Run Reservoir."

http://www.marcellus-shale.us/Beaver-Run-Reservoir.htm

[mmonk]

52. Lewis Black on water.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

61. You don't need to spend a penny to convince me my tap water tastes bad

I'm not even keen on showering in it.

[romanic]

64. The tap water I have in SE MI

is decent I guess. No smell, cloudiness in the water or any kind of "taste" to it. I use one of those filter pitchers though just to be on the safe side.