Bottled
Water: Convenient or Contaminated?
Original Article: Bottled Water May Be Harmful by Jane Houlihan
Picture Credits: http://enrooutd.info/deer-park-spring-water-6-pack.php
Summary: Houlihan's article revolves around the controversial topic of bottled water purity. She takes a strong stance that consumers are buying a product that is not only misleading and costly, but even dangerous. The article reveals that bottled water companies are not held to the same standards as tap water companies. Bottle water companies are not required to reveal tests on the purity of their water, as well as their purification methods. Houlihan argues that this leaves the consumers with a serious knowledge gap on the cleanliness of their bottled water.She reinforces the idea that tap water may in fact be cleaner than bottled water. Tests done to bottled water revealed numerous chemicals used to purify the product, or as Houlihan calls it a "a cocktail of chlorine disinfection byproducts". She also claims that these agents are known to promote cancer and poor health.
Opinion/ Reflection: Reading this article really reconfigured my feelings about bottled water. I had no idea how questionable the purity of bottled water really was. I believe that consumers have been mislead and fooled into thinking that this product is safer than tap water. This article really sheds a light on the underhanded methods big business has been using to convince us of the "purity" of bottled water. In recent news, I've heard about the horrendous "pink slime" being added to our ground beef. Clearly the corporate world has no shame in using foul methods to make our products appear more valuable. Who's to say their not doing the same thing to our bottled water? I think that the purity of bottled water is a serious issue that must be resolved. Bottled water companies such as Deer Park must be held to stricter regulations regarding water safety.
Questions:
- Before reading this article, did you prefer to drink bottled water or tap water? Why?
- After reading this article do you feel that bottled water is unsafe to drink? What makes you feel this way?
- What are your thoughts on the safety standards of drinking water in America based on this article and your prior knowledge? Should they be revised, if yes how so?
I totally agree with Eugene. The way that bottled water companies advertise their water makes it seem like it is so pure and clean! We should have a right to know what we are truly buying. It actually surprises me that there are so many disinfectants in the water. It doesn't really make sense to put loads of disinfectants that still remain in the water, in order to clean the water and make it more pure. It makes it seem more artificial if anything.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Question
1. I preferred to drink bottled water before reading this article. As I said before, it was advertised to seem better than tap water, so I believed that tap water was dirty and that bottled water was perfectly clean just because it went through a filtering process.
WOW…I was shocked by this article and completely agree with Eugene. I drink bottled water all the time because I have always preferred the taste. However, after learning how the bottled water companies are not held to any type of quality standards, I am definitely going to limit, if not stop drinking bottled water altogether.
ReplyDeleteAlthough drinking bottled water can be very convenient, I do not think the risk of drinking water that is laced with cancer-causing chlorination byproducts and bacteria is worth the convenience. After reading the results of the laboratory tests conducted by the EWG, I believe bottled water is definitely unsafe.
I think it is a crime that the water companies can market with the “purity” message that they do and charge 1,000 times the price of tap water and are not held to any reporting requirements of their quality testing. I think laws and regulations should be put into effect to force the bottled water companies to test regularly and report results consistently. If these companies fail to comply with the regulations, they would no longer be able to sell their product and be forced out of business.
Opinion/ Reflection: I agree with Eugene. I never knew that the bottled water companies did not have to release their purification methods. I feel that they should give more information to the community to what goes into the water.
ReplyDeleteAnswer to Question: Before reading this article, did you prefer to drink bottled water or tap water? Why?
Before I read this article I always preferred bottled water over tap water. This is because I thought that bottled water was clean. Now that I know that I know that the bottled water companies put so many chemicals into their waters, I think that I am going to start drinking less bottled water and more tap water.