Is Bottled Water Bad for Your Health?

Photo Courtesy of: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

The next time someone offers you a bottle of water, take a stand and say something clever like, “No thank you, I don’t believe in it.” This simple move will open up a conversation about the massive swindle that is bottled water … and possibly persuade one more person to give it up entirely.

Even beyond the issues of your health and the environment, bottled water represents a novel form of privatization, in which private corporations have succeeded, and quite successfully I might add, at making water a commodity.

I would say, and I suspect you would agree, that water is more a “right” than it is a commodity. And private corporations should have no more control over the selling of water than they do the selling of our air supplies. Well, this is already occurring to some extent as corporations make a profit selling water — which at times even makes water less available to the people living in the area.

Even public water supplies are being increasingly taken over by private corporations, and in some areas of the world are up for grabs by the highest bidder.

This has been publicized in countries such as Bolivia, where residents battled police and the military to protect their water rights from the US-based Bechtel Corporation, but you should know water privatization initiatives are being pushed all over the world, including in the United States.

If you’re interested in learning more, an excellent, eye-opening film on this topic that I highly recommend is Thirst.

Getting back to bottled water, however, many, many Americans still drink it, believing it is somehow healthier than tap water.

In 2008, U.S. bottled water consumption reached nearly 9 billion gallons, raking in revenues of more than $11 billion.

Folks, this is for a “product” you can get virtually for free by turning on your kitchen tap!

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Carmen S.

6:40PM PST on Jan 8, 2012

thanks for sharing this interesting information

send a green star

Eternal G.

5:04PM PST on Jan 4, 2012

Ta.

Karen F.

11:00AM PST on Jan 4, 2012

Do you really know where your tap h20 comes from. And how much poison actually gets in it. So long as I recycle my bottles and caps , I'm still feeling safer than not knowing what is coming out of my tap.

Joy D.

2:51PM PST on Jan 3, 2012

READ ABOUT PRIMA WATER BOTTLES; 100% PLANT BASED! GREAT TASTE! SIMPLE COMPANY BEING PUT BY THE WAYSIDE BY BIG COMPANIES THAT DO NOT HAVE SUCH A CLAIM. I WITNESSED THIS MORE THAN ONCE; BIG NAMES ARE CERTAINLY TO BLAME FOR HUMANITIES FAILINGS. WANT THIS INFORMATION? KROGER REMOVED ABOVE MENTIONED PRODUCT FROM THE SHELVES, IN PART, DUE TO SWIRES ABILITY TO $HARE THE WEALTH. FOR WHAT PRIMO PRODUCTION HAS DONE FOR ME, I WILL DO FOR IT - PROMOTE GOOD HEALTH FOR ALL HUMANITY.

2:41PM PST on Jan 3, 2012

YES! BOTTLE WATER IS NO GOOD WHEN CONTAINMENT IS A CONTAMINANT

Rose N.

2:08AM PST on Jan 3, 2012

don't use bottle water

Marie W.

7:39PM PST on Dec 29, 2011

Its bad for the planet.

Liz C.

5:37PM PST on Dec 29, 2011

Chlorine + Bleach = AMMONIA so my water isn't safe to drink some can't even Bath or eat off plate or wash there clothes in it! :…(

Fadia C.